Day Sixteen - Fear

There are no photos today. I was able to look at the babies, and they look exactly the same as yesterday... the changes aren't so rapid now that they are nearly grown. But, they are extremely fearful of me (as they should be) and it seemed to really upset them that I was nearby. One actually flapped his way out of the nest onto the top of the propane tank. This is a very dangerous place for a baby starling who cannot yet fly, because it is slippery and round.

So, since I have no pictures for you today, instead here are some facts about starlings.

• Starlings belong to the family of birds which includes vocal mimics known as myna birds.
• Starling beaks are yellow during the spring breeding season. By fall the beak becomes brown, and it remains brown through winter.
• Adults can nest three times a year. The young fledge between two and three weeks of age.
• The young begin to fly between 18 and 21 days of age.
• Starlings were originally brought to the USA, to be precise to Central park in New York, from England. The reason is very poetic – there was an unfulfilled plan to introduce all the birds, described in the works of the famous British playwright William Shakespeare, to North America. In 1890 they were released first small flock of 60 starlings and the next year further 40 starlings. These days there are millions of starlings in North America, which are direct descendants of the initial group of 100 starlings.
• European starling chicks are helpless at birth. At first the parents feed them only soft, animal foods, but as they grow older the parents bring a wider variety of plant and animal foods.
• The most common animals eaten by the starling are centipedes, spiders, moths, earthworms. The most popular plants are berries, seeds, apples, pears, plums, and cherries.

Sad but interesting:
433.301 Starlings and crows; bounty for killing; resolution of board of supervisors.
Sec. 1. - Every person being an inhabitant of this state, who shall kill a starling or a crow in any organized township, village or city in this state shall be entitled to receive a bounty of 3 cents for each starling thus killed, and 10 cents for each crow thus killed, to be allowed and paid in the manner hereinafter provided: Provided, That this law shall not be obligatory on any county unless the board of supervisors at the October session shall adopt a resolution to that effect, either as to starlings or as to crows or both, and then only to the amount appropriated for such purpose by said board, and shall not be effective in any city or village located in any such county in case the governing body thereof shall adopt a resolution to that effect. History: 1941, Act 152, Eff. Jan. 10, 1942 ;--CL 1948, 433.301. (from http://www.outdoor-michigan.com/Weird_Laws.htm)


Click here to hear a starling.

Facts are courtesy of:
www.pleasebekind.com/starlings.html
http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/living/starlings.htm#facts
http://www.wildanimalsonline.com/birds/commonstarling.php
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Sturnus_vulgaris.html

Day Fifteen - Fortnight

Day fifteen and our babies are fourteen days old (cause I counted their first day as day one, instead of them being a day old on day one ... you get the picture.)

They are very much like adult birds. They are very frightened of me so my visits are incredibly brief. I don't know for how much longer I can take a picture of one in my hand each day, because I think they are really ready to fly away. I don't want one to fly off my hand before he is ready and possibly injure himself. I will be a little sad the day I find them all gone from the nest, but also really excited. Isn't it incredible how fast they go from a practically fetal state to nearly fully developed?

Day Fourteen - Adolescence

I think the birds are basically adolescents now. They certainly don't look much like babies though.
They are scared when I open the tank lid, but don't try to escape when I hold them. They seem quite calm in my hand. See how this one just perches on my thumb?





I think our bird journey is quite close to its end... a week more perhaps. Then maybe I will see them fly, and maybe next summer I will have grand-birds.

Day Thirteen - Wary

Oh my, the babies were really, really mad at me today!! They are suddenly very wary of me. They screech their heads off and climb out of the nest, in between the nest and the tank lid. They'd settle down for a second and then one would start hollering ,which would make the other three start hollering too. You can see them trying to get away from me above.

We have major feather progress today, as you can see from the photos. But what is up with the tufts on his head?










The Audobon Society classifies starlings as perching birds, and I can certainly see why. When I pick them up, they cling to me just like a pet bird.

And lastly, a video! This is the babies screeching and trying to get away. The sound isn't as distorted this time either, so you can really hear their prrr-eeps.




I can sort of understand why people would want to keep a starling as a pet. They are so helpless, and its a truly awesome feeling to hold a wild bird. But as William Blake wrote - "A Robin Redbreast in a cage... puts all of heaven in a rage." I know a starling is not as pretty as a robin, or welcomed in spring like the robin, but I think Blake meant all birds. If he didn't, well, I do.

Day Twelve - Sleepy

I got to the babies late today and they were all sleeping in the nest, cuddled with each other. Today I noticed what a mess the nest has become. When we first started the starling journey, it was a nice cup shaped nest. Now its quite flat. The egg that never hatched is gone, I am assuming one of the parents removed it. It isn't anywhere near the propane tank that I can see though.

I took lots of pictures of this baby, to show you how his beak has changed. He looks kind of normal now, doesn't he? No longer our little comical joker babies.

Day Eleven - Growth

The babies aren't really like babies anymore. The changes haven't been tremendous in the last few days, except for behavior. They really want to perch on my finger when I pick them up, and they flap their wings and move their bodies like adult birds.

We have quite a bit of feather progress today too - definitely still pinfeathers, but they are really starting to open up.

Day Ten - Feather Progress

Well I worried about the heat for nothing. The babies are absolutely fine. They seemed hot today too, but as soon as the chill hits the air, they are huddled together in the nest again. You can see them below, all huddled. Sorry its blurry, I'm not the greatest photographer and when I visit the birds I try tro make the vistis as brief as possible... thirty seconds tops.


They seem to be developing a fear of me. They are very wary and don't peep for food when i come near. They flap their wings and try to get away when I hold them for a photo op. Maybe its just because birds naturally have beady eyes - but I really think they are looking at me with distrust. This makes me very happy, because it means they haven't imprinted on me at all and are becoming normal, adolescent starlings.

Their feathers are making great progress! I don't know if the picture really captures it accurately though. Like I said they aren't liking the handling too much so I can't get a really good picture. The feathers are coming out of the pins at the tips. Imagine this - birds covered entirely by bluish gray straight pins, like Grandma sews with. And coming out the end of those pins, a tiny tuft of what could be hair. Its the goofiest thing. They are really comical looking- it seems like each change is funnier than the last.

PS, ignore the date stamp on the photos. I was messing around with my camera and forgot to turn that off when I took the photos. It is, obviously, inaccurate.