Where have all the Starlings gone!!

[counterlady]

Over the years we have had many starlings visit us each year and one pair always nest in roof. However, I have seen a big decline in visitors and this year have actually got no starlings at all and the roof space has not been used either.
I remember at my parents house when growing up flocks of them but not seen that in ages.
Anyone any idea on what is happening!!

[artdemole]

In this area of N.E.Somerset the starlings are about now with all their young and feeding them.With a lot of calling from the young.Noisy at times...

[bigdave60dog]

One of my pet rants.
Starlings like to roost communally in the winter. 20 years ago they were allowed in our cities, Now there are horrible little spike things placed everywhere to stop starlings roosting. When I was teenager, Birmingham was my nearest town. Of a winter evening, every concievable ledge and branch had an even distribution of starlings along it. There must have been tens of millions of these birds. they roosted in the city for shelter from the very severe weather that we had in those days. Where can they go now?
We grew equal amounts of winter and spring cereals. We ploughed the winter sown ground first then planted it before ploughing the other over the winter. This winter stubble provided a food source for a good many bird species. Where can t
Now with much bigger, faster ploughing rigs and a reliance on winter/autumn sown crops, stubble is ploughed directly after combining. Where can birds find food now?
When we carried straw we stacked small bales in layers on a trailer and took them down in layers when unloading. After unloading the floor of the trailer would be heaving with tiny insects and invertibrates that had fallen from the bales as they were moved off the trailer. There are very few small bales moved these days but if you do the same thing , there will be ALMOST NO insects on the trailer. We use insecticides to kill aphids which kills everything else as well.
What can birds that depended on this food supply when it was growing in the field eat now?
Most -maybe all- houses had House Sparrows and Starlings nesting in the Roofspace and often Swifts as well. Birds accessed this Roofspace by flying in under the Eaves. Now nearly all houses have "gone Plastic" and have boxed their eaves in with plastic soffitts.- For the benefit of those born after 1980 "Eaves" is the join between the roof and the wall which had been left open for ventilation since time immemorial and "soffitts" are the plastic ledges that fill in the space between roof and wall to prevent access by birds, mice and rats and to save energy.-
Where can these birds nest now?
I do realise that bird decline is often multicausal but here a few reason for some decline especially Starlings.
Dave
That is why Starling and House sparrows are rapidly declining

[KentYeti]

My garden has been very low on Starlings, (mid Kent).

But since Sunnydale set up my feeding station they have been coming back.

I threw out some stale rolls today, (with plenty of bird seed in amongst them to increase the nutrition), and it was great to see quite a number of them on the back grass squabbling over the bits and pieces. Like they used to do a few years ago.

Same with sparrows. The feeding station has seen them building up again. Now almost got a small flock in the garden most of the time. Very happy with that. Went out and stocked right up on bird feed today as I do not want to run out: filling up the feeders and bird water is an important daily job now. Not sure where they are nesting, but I suspect it's very close.

Good on you Sunny!

[bigdave60dog]

Originally Posted by KentYeti

My garden has been very low on Starlings, (mid Kent).

But since Sunnydale set up my feeding station they have been coming back.

I threw out some stale rolls today, (with plenty of bird seed in amongst them to increase the nutrition), and it was great to see quite a number of them on the back grass squabbling over the bits and pieces. Like they used to do a few years ago.

Same with sparrows. The feeding station has seen them building up again. Now almost got a small flock in the garden most of the time. Very happy with that. Went out and stocked right up on bird feed today as I do not want to run out: filling up the feeders and bird water is an important daily job now. Not sure where they are nesting, but I suspect it's very close.

Good on you Sunny!

I found that I could maintain a good flock of House Sparrows but Starlings were a bit more difficult being a bit more insectivorous. i needed to put up nestboxes as well. Sparrows are really Weaver Birds and will nest in thick brush but prefer boxes. Starlings really like hollow trees but are fine using nest boxes. (I have 5 in my garden at present) Here in Orkney we have quite a lot of wild ground so do not need to feed starlings and House Sparrows find enough weed seeds around but when i lived in England I was feeding 25k of seed every week. That amount makes quite a mess in a garden. I have tips to avoid H+S and neighbour problems if anyone needs them.
Some idiot of an expert once went on TV to tell us not to feed birds during the breeding season. This resulted in thousands of well meaning bird lovers feeding birds all winter. Then, when the birds were fully dependent on our bird tables with loads of chicks from a well nourished Hen bird, we just cut off the food supply. With "experts like that birds don`t need habitat destruction to reduce their numbers.
Dave

[dooscoo]

Hi Dave, the quest to keep our homes warm has seen many older housing stock go for deep layers of insulating, so combined with the plastic plus rubber felts it does create barriers to breeding birds.
Is there other reasons, that I am not sure, maybe the rise of the numbers of magpies may have some unseen reason.
Nature is such a fine balance between for and against, is this happening Uk wide?

[angelika611]

There all in my garden tons everywhere never had a shortage here and loads of sparrows to,i live in stoke on trent.

[counterlady]

Originally Posted by angelika611

There all in my garden tons everywhere never had a shortage here and loads of sparrows to,i live in stoke on trent.

I'll come down with a cage and take some of your hands

Dave you make some valid points. I remember the hay and straw piles as we had horses.

My house is very old and there is definately no plastic stopping the birdies doing as they please.

You make another comment about putting food out - I am one of those who do only feed in the winter as I've heard that as well. I will head off to the shops

[~T~]

Had tons during winter then they seemed to disappear for a while (nesting no doubt) now there are loads again fuelling up on my fat ball feeders in between bouts of foraging for worms and things for their chicks. Noticed quite a few nests on the roof round my way too.

[angelika611]

Im getting through 2 loafs of wholemeal bread mixed with crushed fatballs for them,they also love the fat blocks and are getting through 1 a day,also fatballs but prefer the blocks,then when there babies are fledged they bring them to my garden and the babies stay all day this has been for 3 years running,in winter i get loads to it seems like my garden is one of there main feeding sources round here as soon as the food runs out i put more out they are costing me a fortune but there worth every penny,they also have attracted loads of sparrows to my garden which im very happy about.