Starling behaviour

[retired]

This morning, as for the last couple of weeks, I knocked the block of ice out of the water bowl and refilled it.

I replaced the two fat slabs (home made recipe that they love and are currently going through 2 a day) and the normal flock of 20-30 arrived.

Instead of drinking the water, today they have queued up squabbling to have a bath in it - I have had to refill it twice already.

Although the sun is finally out, the temperature is still below zero, surely having to evaporate all that water off their feathers in sub zero temperatures must remove an awful lot of body heat ?

[Dogghound]

They have to reach a compromise as dirty feathers are less waterproof and hold less heat.

[nightshade]

As Dogghound says they need to keep their feathers clean, here they have been bathing almost non stop, then sitting atop the arbor in whatever sunshine there is preening. As far as I can see most of the water comes off when they fly away from the pond/stream or bird baths, they do steam a little in the sunshine today