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Starling
delia todd

Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

Saw a movement in the hedge so started shooting, and was pleased with how this image turned out.

Either him, or one of his pals got taken by a cat yesterday. It hides under the shed roof and whizzes out when he hears a bird on top. He's not usually successful. Not my shed, garden or cat, so little I can do about him

Trouble is, the birds are now keeping away, though not sure if the weather hasn't got something to do with that - it's really wild again today.

Sports Mode settings
Continuous
f/5.6
1/320 sec
ISO 1250
Exp bias: -0.3
Focal length: 160 mm
Max aperture: 3
Metering mode: Pattern
Click to expand...
Habitat
Town garden
Location
Blairgowrie
Date taken
20 September 2015
Scientific name
Sturnus vulgaris
Equipment used
Fuji Finepix HS50 Sports Mode Continuous
Chris G6 UXU
Staff member
Supporter
A cracker of a detailed shot and setting Delia, lovely job and many tfs.

Winds increasing by the hour, gusting at 60 mph but no rain at the moment.
 
AndrewG
A beauty Delia, have a cat problem also, found a squirt of tomato ketchup doe's the trick.
might be up at Kinnordy on Wednsday hopefully for this Bittern, if this weather breaks.
 
ChrisKten
Great close-up, Delia (I've seen Cats get a few birds over the years, and it's always too late to do anything about it. It's not the fault of the Cats, it's the fault of Humans. It became usual/habit/accepted to let Cats roam free; I've no idea how or why it happened, but I suspect it was a common practice on farms etc. to keep Mice/Rat numbers under a bit of control. How this got transferred to the Towns, I've no idea; I guess millions of cats have been run over by traffic over the years. Still, any within range of my water pistol/canon get soaked and hissed at... even those on neighbours fences ;) )
 
aloktewari
Opus Editor
Supporter
A super closeup shot, Delia ... wonderful narration ... tfs ...
Cats are playing havoc with the birds coming to our balcony as well ... a real menace ...
 
S K Gudi
Always tough to get them in their hiding. Great spotting, setting & close up shot, Delia!! tfs.
 
Doc Duck
Supporter
I <3 this picture with all those <3s |=)| :loveme:

As for the birds staying away, it could be either reason. "My" garden birds have stayed away for a few days after a cat or raptor attack, and clearly spent some effort checking that the cat is gone when they come back. They also tend to be hanging on for dear life in the depths of the hedges when we have gale level winds. Either way, I guess it just shows they're smarter than their "bird-brain" reputation would have us believe |=)|
 
KC Foggin
Staff member
Opus Editor
Supporter
I so agree with Chris on this. This is a great closeup of this Starling D.

Beautifully captured girl.
 

Media information

Category
Britain & Europe
Added by
delia todd
Date added
View count
91
Comment count
17

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