I've heard that Starling populations have peaked. It's typical for an invasive species to over-expand before ultimately settling into a more comfortable niche. There are still one hell of a lot of them. Our habituation is such that people don't know one when they see it. If you've got binoculars in the Park, people will come to you with their bird questions. The other day a couple was all excited about an amazing bird they'd seen. It had "iridescent green and purple spots with silver outlines, like that jewelry, clo, clozen…" "Cloisonné?" "Yeah, that's it!" Apparently it was "not too big, poking around on the ground near a path, had a yellow bill" I suggested they might have seen a Starling, which didn't seem to please them much. "If it was a Starling, it was the most beautiful one I've ever seen." Exactly. Starlings are currently in an in-between plumage. The fresh fall feathers have white edges, which gives the birds a spotted or "salt & pepper" look in the winter. These are in the process of wearing away; by summer the birds have the overall dark look we're most familiar with. They also have a certain degree of iridescence, which, in the right light can create a striking effect. The behavior and bill color were actually the good observations, which lead me to conclude Starling, as opposed to an escaped exotic bird, the only other possibility.
Mozart, at least, liked Starlings. He kept one as a pet, and apparently was inspired by it.
In other bird news, migrants are coming through, with the expected species showing up, though not in great numbers. On May Day I found 14 warbler species, which is not great for this date, but we haven't been getting the right weather from the south. The forecast is improving, and with any luck there will lots of birds around by next week, which is typically the high point of the season. I'm taking most of the week off, and I think we're planning on some sort of group trip to the Park. I'm not sure how that will go, but if anyone is serious about actually seeing things, let me know. BTW Sarah, our Little Blue Heron made the official NYC rare bird alert!
Oh yeah, the Times had yet another article on the local Red-tails. They should be easily viewable next week, along with a Green Heron nest.
i think all of these nytimes bird stories are driven by this ad which not coincidentally has been easily accessible in the right hand column of each article.
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Mozart, at least, liked Starlings. He kept one as a pet, and apparently was inspired by it.
In other bird news, migrants are coming through, with the expected species showing up, though not in great numbers. On May Day I found 14 warbler species, which is not great for this date, but we haven't been getting the right weather from the south. The forecast is improving, and with any luck there will lots of birds around by next week, which is typically the high point of the season. I'm taking most of the week off, and I think we're planning on some sort of group trip to the Park. I'm not sure how that will go, but if anyone is serious about actually seeing things, let me know. BTW Sarah, our Little Blue Heron made the official NYC rare bird alert!
Oh yeah, the Times had yet another article on the local Red-tails. They should be easily viewable next week, along with a Green Heron nest.
- alex 5-02-2002 9:35 pm
i think all of these nytimes bird stories are driven by this ad which not coincidentally has been easily accessible in the right hand column of each article.
- dave 5-02-2002 9:50 pm [add a comment]