chatter and whistles
starlings gossip on the line
animated dusk
The vocal range of starlings is pretty impressive. There were four whooping and whistling and chattering to one another. Their mimicry is impressive, they can even copy people’s speech with enough exposure. You can youtube examples of this, but be warned, their voices are proper horror film evil sounding.
dark swathe of starlings
just a small murmur swirling
drift in the wind squall
Starling numbers are declining. Theories suggest modern farming methods, chemicals and the reduction in natural hedgerows are limiting the starlings ability to breed and feed.
When I was young and not so interested in birds, the Starling was pretty common, even where I lived in London, it was recognisable through the dark iridescent coat, catching the sun and reflecting rainbow hues. Year on year their numbers have noticeably declined.
Occasionally you’ll still catch one, chattering away, they are great mimics and have an incredible range of calls and song.
I’d love to see a murmuration, where up to one hundred thousand birds would gather and create and incredible scene in the sky. But today I settled for just a little murmur, there were perhaps forty birds, which landed in a tree outside of my window at work. Haven’t seen that many in years. It cheered me up on a grim rainy day.
