Avian Explorer » starling

Evening Light

Elizabeth — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 03:56:12 +0000

Sometimes you can use the dying light to your advantage.

The Importance of Cleaning Gutters

Elizabeth — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 01:41:49 +0000

If you weren’t already convinced of the importance of cleaning your gutters, I have some news. If you let leaves build up, they will plug the gutters, water will stay in the gutters, AND BIRDS WILL BATHE IN YOUR GUTTERS

Imagine, your gutters have so much stuff in them, that stagnant water sits there. And the birds don’t mind because there isn’t much water in Salt Lake City so bathing in filthy water is better than no bath.

Jon and I spent several minutes taking pictures and laughing at this house.

The birds looked so happy, diving in the gutters

and coming up dripping with water.

so make sure to clean your gutters because the birds are watching you

Western Meadowlark

Elizabeth — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:44:30 +0000

Both Utah and California have Western Meadowlarks. They’re quite common birds, but it took awhile before I even saw them. I guess they blend well. This picture is from last July in Utah. The poor bird is very hot.

They frequently have their backs turned, which makes them harder to identify. From the front, it’s very clear that this is no sparrow, warbler or pipit.

Isn’t he amazing? You would think that they would be very visible with that yellow front, but here is a picture of his surroundings.

With all those yellow flowers, he’s actually hard to spot.

The last three pictures were taken in Palo Alto, California. I’ve seen meadowlarks since moving to Utah in Farmington Bay. For some reason, he was hanging out in a tree full of European Starlings.

one of these things is not like the other

But then later he was alone. I wish these pictures was clearer, but that day we were experiencing an inversion. I’m so glad that we haven’t had an inversion for several weeks now. You can actually feel the pollution when you inhale. It is a natural consequence of living in the valley, but increased pollution has caused a greater incidence of inversions over the years.

I’m going to treat myself to a new camera base this week, so hopefully next weeks’ pictures will be even better!

European Starlings

Elizabeth — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 02:28:00 +0000

Back in the 1890′s, crazy people decided that the United States should be populated with all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare plays. So they let 100 European Starlings loose in Central Park. I’m not kidding.

A lot of people dislike starlings because they’re not native and they thrive here. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t see a reason to dislike a bird because it’s common. I certainly don’t agree with disliking a bird because it’s not native. It’s not as if the bird booked passage on a ship and decided to come here. Regardless, they’re here and they’re everywhere, so I say embrace them. At least some people agree with me.

you don’t like me?

I love the picture below because in the middle of all these big pigeons, the starling swoops down and grabs the bread. The starling is at the bottom, with the piece of bread that is almost the size of his head.

A few months ago I saw this brown bird with very red eyes in Pescadero, CA. I thought I found a new bird. I looked in my field guide and I couldn’t find the bird anywhere! So I asked on birdforum, where the people are helpful and all knowing in their collective wisdom. Do you know what the answer was?

juvenile starling

Can you believe that this bird is a starling? It’s amazing how many brightly colored birds start out their first year in drab garments.

Starlings travel in gangs. Below, you can see a flock of juveniles that are in the beginning stages of growing their adult feathers.

Today, we stopped off at the mall before birding and got to see a real treat. Teenagers! Look how sassy they are.

look at me when I’m talking to you!

you watch where you’re stepping!

There were so many of them making such wonderful noises. And such variety! They all have speckled breasts, but some of them have whiter heads than others and some are still shedding the last of their baby feathers.

Oh, if only they let you hug them, but like most teenagers, they want nothing to do with you.