I often defend starlings to people who despise them, saying it's our
fault they are here, not theirs, and that's entirely true.

But today they're straining my patience. I've had this nice suet
feeder outside my window all winter, and it's bee a great source of
joy, as bird after bird feeds from it, from flocks of Bushtits to a
spectacular Pileated Woodpecker. Imagine a Townsend's Warbler on one
side and a Bewick's Wren on the other.

But today the starlings have come back into the neighborhood, and
I've spent all morning chasing them off that feeder. They are
shockingly persistent, just flying into the nearby trees when I yell,
clap my hands, and/or wave things out the window, then returning
within minutes or even seconds. They're too relaxed! As many as 10
gather, one on the suet, and it pecks so vigorously that enough suet
falls to the ground to feed the hordes below. Flickers do the same
thing, and it's great to see a wren or Varied Thrush picking up the
pieces then. But the starlings can strip a suet feeder in no time,
and I can't afford the time or money to replace it every few hours.
Also, they keep the smaller birds off it, even giving the flickers
pause when there are enough of them. I'd love to see a Pileated come
in and scatter them.

The flock finally flew away after about 15 minutes of my hassling
them, but I know they'll be back.

Now that they've returned for the spring (they are fortunately absent
from this neighborhood in winter, I may have to take the suet down.
We have another feeder in which the suet is impervious to starlings,
but that's such a metal monstrosity that I don't really want it by my
window. Not much I can do about it, as I can't spend every day
running to the window 50 times, just venting.

One interesting thing is that several times when the yard was full of
starlings, it was also full of robins, and I get the distinct feeling
that they may travel together, at least loosely.
-----
Dennis Paulson
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115
206-528-1382
dennispaulson at comcast.net



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