With starlings, I am often an outlier, even among people who share my conservation ethics and love for wildlife. That’s because I appreciate starlings in a way that defies conventional dislike for the species in the United States. I wrote about this in a 2009 post about European Starlings and their introduction to the U.S….
Seattle Birds on a Wire
Like a bird on the wire, Like a drunk in a midnight choir I have tried in my way to be free. Like a worm on a hook, Like a knight from some old fashioned book I have saved all my ribbons for thee. If I, if I have been unkind, I hope that you…
[Bird] Towel Optional
A European Starling preens in a communal bath on the Seattle waterfront as a juvenile Starling wanders into the splash zone. This bird bath was a series of long, narrow puddles at the edge of a bike path, visited at various times by Starlings, crows, finches and sparrows. Each time a cyclist buzzed by, the…
These Are Not Leaves
My loose homage to Rene Magritte. They were so quiet, fluttering in the wind just like the leaves. Not even the softest Starling whistle came from that tree. When you’ve birded or photographed enough, or sometimes even just a bit, it’s wonderful how the slightest anomaly then draws the eye. This was more than slight,…
Cleaning House
Much-maligned but still loved by me, a European Starling makes the drop: grubs for breakfast, in the door; baby droppings out the door. The parent carries the nestlings’ waste out through the portal, drops it in the shrubs nearby, then forages again in the grass for the babies’ next meal of insects. Because Starlings, en…
One More Reason [for Me] to Love Starlings . . .
. . . because they have artistic sensibilities: Related posts: The Lady Fairer How Starlings Colonized the United States
The Lady Fairer
Have you seen her all in gold Like a queen in days of old? She shoots colors all around, Like a sunset going down, Have you seen the lady fairer? I know Mick didn’t have Starlings in mind when he sang that. For those who don’t have a frame of reference for the song, the…
Not-So-Ordinary Black Birds
Until the esteemed Brewer’s Blackbird Sir Swoopsmade a name for himself by dive-bombing pedestrians, there’s a good chance he was just one of many birds in black, hopping along the sidewalks of San Francisco without much notice. On first glance, blackbirds and black-colored birds may seem visually ordinary. But closer inspection always renders a more…
