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Where have all the starlings gone (1 Viewer)

G

goplaces

Bob D
Until recently I had at least a dozen starlings, both adult and young, visiting the garden throughout the day. The last 10 days or so I haven't seen a single one. Anyone have an answer?
 
I've wondered the exact same question but with Blackbirds instead of Starlings. I haven't seen or heard any blackbirds in about 2 weeks. Is it a post-breeding thing?
 
I reckon the majority of the Starlings have gone into the fields/countryside..
I've seen some big flocks recently, majority of these seemed to be juveniles.

Dave.
 
I think they're all in my garden!! I've got a whole gang of starlings - adult and juvenile, a pair of blackbirds nesting and 2 or 3 juveniles.........and thousands of little sparrows, tits etc!!! I also get a pair of collared doves and a pair of woodpigeons visiting me every day. It's bliss - but quite noisy!! They're really quite cheeky too - they hop about on my sunlounger and patio - even had one land on my back the other day when I was looking into the pond! As a novice bird-watcher it's not a bad place to start I reckon! :bounce:
 
In my backyard.whole families of juvenile starlings,making the most awful racket,and scattering the food everywhere,closely followed by the Blackbird youngsters,all making a beeline for the sultanas.
 
Hi all,

It seems as though many of us are having very mixed results, in some gardens theres none and others theres loads, personally i don't have any until i put fat balls out, as soon as i do they come. It could be to do with what food you put out. Bob, do you put out fat balls, if not this could be the answer.

Steven
 
There is absolutely loads where I live, and where I work in Newton Aycliffe, there is loads as well. I saw all the juveniles a few weeks ago, and I thought, what a good breeding season.
 
Stonechat2 said:
Hi all,

It seems as though many of us are having very mixed results, in some gardens theres none and others theres loads, personally i don't have any until i put fat balls out, as soon as i do they come. It could be to do with what food you put out. Bob, do you put out fat balls, if not this could be the answer.

Steven
Click to expand...
Ditto - our flock of starlings, admittedly all juvs, live for the fat balls. We're going through 2 per day at present.
 
At about 11-30am today we counted 40 starlings + fledglings they must be on thier 5th brood, best blackbird count is 20 + juv's. But blue -coal -great tit's well down this year?
bert.
 
I live in a rural area, with open farmland down one side of my garden, mine is almost the last dwelling in the village, woodland and hills all round. During the months October to March, there are hundreds of Starlings around, of which I regularly get 40+ coming to feed. But come the breeding season, they all disappear,have done so for the 5 years I have been here. I have however seen and heard large flocks of these in the trees around the harbour in Aberaeron up on the Cardigan Bay coast, so maybe they go there for a long holiday by the seaside?
 
goplaces said:
Until recently I had at least a dozen starlings, both adult and young, visiting the garden throughout the day. The last 10 days or so I haven't seen a single one. Anyone have an answer?
Click to expand...

Hi Bob,

Starlings are semi-migratory and as some othe replies have reflected, the birds will have dispersed by now. Starlings have a single brood (rarely, two) per year and the flock will disperse to feed once the young have fledged.
 
I have ringed over 200 starlings, a high percentage of juveniles over the past 7/8 weeks in my garden. Over the past 10 days I have hardly seen a single bird. They have flocked up and are all in the fields, paticularly fields that had had peas that have been vined. The breeding season is over and that will be the last I see of any numbers until cold weather feeding attracts them again into the garden. Another birding friend has found exactly the same result in his garden.
 
Stonechat2 said:
Hi all,

It seems as though many of us are having very mixed results, in some gardens theres none and others theres loads, personally i don't have any until i put fat balls out, as soon as i do they come. It could be to do with what food you put out. Bob, do you put out fat balls, if not this could be the answer.

Steven
Click to expand...
Sorry for delay in replying.
Yes I have fat balls out all the time, until recently starlings being what they are wer fighting for position both on the fat balls and the peanut feeder, while others were scavenging for the that dropped on the ground. Stiil haven't seen a starling now for 2 weeks, although the other species are as aboundant as ever.
Bob
 
I regularly get flocks of 40+ in my small back garden in Manchester. As I write they have just flown - but like Arnie they will be back! They seem to have bred very successfully this year and there are lots of juveniles around. Sometimes I can get a flock of around 20, all juveniles, as I think they have a tendency to flock together. But at other times there are mixed adult and juveniles, around 50/50.

Alan Hill
 
As I look out of my front window all I can see is a sea of Starlings rushing around the green area in front of us. There must be upwards of three hundred and their numbers have steadily built up over the last month.

Probably in about 30 minutes time (usually about 8am) they will be fighting each other for the fat balls in my back garden and it is a real noisy, hilarious, affair.

I don't know about single broods (as Ian Peters has suggested) but we have had juveniles coming to our table for ages now, which suggests to me more than one brood.
 
Reader said:
As I look out of my front window all I can see is a sea of Starlings rushing around the green area in front of us. There must be upwards of three hundred and their numbers have steadily built up over the last month.

Probably in about 30 minutes time (usually about 8am) they will be fighting each other for the fat balls in my back garden and it is a real noisy, hilarious, affair.

I don't know about single broods (as Ian Peters has suggested) but we have had juveniles coming to our table for ages now, which suggests to me more than one brood.
Click to expand...

Surely they must have had more than one brood this year - we have had many juviniles over the past few months, approx 75% are now getting their spotty chests, whereas the other 25% reamain brown and fluffy suggesting they are much younger birds.
 
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