Where have all the Starlings gone?

In the March newsletter Rosemary Harvey reported that she had noticed a change in the distribution of Starlings in the locality of her Fakenham Road home in Taverham. She said Starlings “abounded” in her garden in the late 1960s and 70s but that now she cannot remember the last time she saw a Starling in her garden although they are a common sight across the Fakenham Road in Thorpe Marriot. Rosemary asked if this change could be explained?Rosemary’s observations probably reflect the fact that the Starling population has fallen throughout Europe especially since the 1970s. A large proportion of our wintering birds come from Finland where dairy farms have largely disappeared resulting in the loss of grazing pastures. This is the main foraging habitat of the Starling as it provides high densities of leatherjackets its main breeding season food item. This has resulted in a reduced breeding success and a subsequent marked reduction in the Finnish Starling population. Other factors such as the change from spring sown to autumn sown cereals or subtle climatic changes might also be affecting Starling populations in some regions.

But why have the surviving Starlings moved across the Fakenham Road? I can only conjecture. I assume Rosemary is referring to wintering birds when she sees them “lined equidistantly on the roof ridges of the houses”. Starlings roost together like this during the day close to their feeding sites so could there be good feeding site(s) within easy reach of Thorpe Marriot and this is why they have deserted Rosemary’s house where there used to be a good feeding area nearby? Perhaps Thorpe Marriot has been built on those feeding areas so the birds have moved on.

If Rosemary is referring to the lack of breeding birds near her garden then I would guess that that there are no longer any suitable holes or crevices in her house or her neighbours for the Starlings to nest in. Also the decline in our resident birds means there are fewer birds around and so some traditional nesting sites have been deserted.

Rosemary also referred to the large flocks of Starlings she has seen near Happisburgh on the North Norfolk coast. I would guess that these birds are incoming migrants that are feeding up after flying across the North Sea or are preparing to return to Finland to breed depending on the time of year they were observed.

Alwyn Jackson

(Author’s note: I will now prepare myself to be shot down in flames!)

Tags: birdwatching, birding norfolk, birding