Too much starling noise (1 Viewer)

In the last couple of days the starlings have fledged.

They have latched onto my garden as I have food there. However, the noise is getting to me, it starts at 5am and ends at about 7pm. It's the young birds begging for food off their parents and any other adult starling.

I've had up to 20 fledgings in the garden (and it's very small). I'm worried that the neighbours will complain about them waking them up.

I do like starlings and wanted to help them through the breeding period. I have a seed feeder but have also supplemented their food twice a day with sultanas and mealworms.

However, I think I'll stop feeding temporarily in the hope they'll disperse. It's a shame for the other species that visit.

Anyone else had this problem?

As far as I know it's quite common, we had the same problem after putting up some fat cakes. Sadly we had to take them down as the wee buggers were stopping any other birds from using the garden!

Dont worry, the other birds will ignore them and carry on feeding, this morning the count was 30 juv's + adults looking very harrased!! Its worth the noise just to watch their antics.

pauco said:

Dont worry, the other birds will ignore them and carry on feeding

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That's definitely true in my garden. I've had up to 19 Starlings in the garden at once on several occasions recently. But I've also had 11 other species of birds - they don't seem at all bothered by the Starlings. The Blackbirds and Starlings occasionally have a bit of an argument over the sultanas, but apart from that, no problems.

As for the noise they make - well, all babies make a lot of noise, don't they?

I sympathise. I get a starling creche in at this time every year - more for the cover than the food. The parents fly off for food and are coming and going all day. One year was particularly warm and I just couldn't go out into the garden it was so unbearably noisy and then I had to shut the windows. I think baby starlings are lovely and certainly very amusing to watch but this creche, I'm afraid, has just driven me to distraction and I don't love them any more! A few days ago, however, there was a major disturbance outside and and starling was screeching. I raced out but the noise was coming from inside the thick of a bush so I just hit out at the bush. The noise stopped and there were no dead bodies/injured birds in there when I looked so I suspect a cat had carted one off. The good news is that every single starling left the garden and have not returned! They were well developed babies anyway so more than capable of flight. But I do know what you mean!

Hi hil5

I have at there peak 200 Starlings visit the garden all day with neighbouring gardens near by. I too am feeding sultanas at a very fast rate (last week alone I went through 35 500g bags).

I have found that dedicating a section of garden,however small, to them restricts their feeding wanderings. I use a bird table that I just feed the Sultanas on so no other bird has to go on and the Starlings have no real need to go anywhere else so all live in relative harmony.

The noise levels of the juveniles are loud and noticable.....to us! I find that "our" ears are tuned to the birds noise in anticipation of new song,distress,skills and the calls of begging young. Unless your neighbours are complaining or mentioning this to you I would not let it be of concern, although it is good to be aware of your neighbours in many ways.

I know for a fact that the life cycle of birds in my garden goes mostly unnoticed by the neighbours as most of peoples ears are tuned into the tones of eastenders,car alarms, mobile phones and the ringing of tills in the local supermarkets as the sales come in.

Don't give up as the challenge of garden birds in all it's forms are very satisfying.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I'll probably just stick to feeding them early evening so perhaps they'll stop waiting and screaming in the mornings.

Stephen - your post made me laugh. I agree most peoples' ears are tuned to Eastenders and mobile phones!

Wow 200!! I have about 60 at the moment, am worrid too about my neighbours they havnt said anything yet, but have noticed my next door neighbour has been coming home and then leaving at night time. Can cope with the numbers, and the other birds seem to keep coming, but they are starting to fight among themselves, then they really squeal, and I am up at the window. Will they stay now, or do they all go off once fully fledged

They will all go, when fully fledged nicola. They need large feeding areas, not something the average garden can give. I apologise to an earlier poster, because, without looking back, I have forgotten their name, but I thought it was an astute observation that people not into birds 'don't hear them' - I am sure this is absolutely correct. I live next door to a block of 3-storey flats and have been horrified at times that some of the residents have been sitting out to enjoy the sun and not hear the frantic cries of blackbirds, etc., trying to protect their nests from predators. I was so annoyed one day that I walked round to see what all the major fuss was about and the people sitting out freely admitted they were unaware there was a problem, despite the 'problem' being a nest in a tree under which they were sitting! Don't worry about the neighbours, I am willing to bet they are noisy, with doors banging, cars revving up etc., but that's more 'natura' isn't it? ha ha! I did an earlier post on my starling invasions if you scroll back.

Franmol said:

Don't worry about the neighbours, I am willing to bet they are noisy, with doors banging, cars revving up etc., but that's more 'natura' isn't it? ha ha!

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Agree with that! Dont think mine knows how to close a door with out banging, knocked one of our kitchen tiles off once. The starlings seem to have gone off for the night, and a lot of the smaller birds are coming for a feed now