Very Common Starlings
Common Starling feeding young in nesting hollow
Common Starlings are becoming far too common around here in Murray Bridge South Australia.
At the moment their breeding season is in full swing. Our home is situated in several acres of old growth mallee scrub. Being old trees, they have many hollows. The starlings take advantage of this and use every available hollow for nesting. The sound of begging young fills the air. I decided that it was time I took a close up photo of the parent birds entering the nest to feed the young ones.
They are very wary birds around their nests, so I had to be a little cunning. I actually used our car as a bird hide in order to get a close up shot.
Who was I kidding?
They must have seen me getting into the car because the adult photographed was still very hesitant about entering the nest. Eventually, after about a ten minute wait, the calls of the young must have become too insistent, and I managed to get the shot I wanted.
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I don’t mind starlings but I hate it at nesting time when they build a nest in our eaves. At least one nestling falls out and into the house wall each season. We can’t help it in any way we just have to wait until the plaintive cheeping weakens then stops. Awful!
Yes – I can understand you getting upset with even just one little one suffering in that way.