Key Features of Starlings
The Starling is a bird which is common to both urban and rural areas.
Breeding
Nests are typically built in holes contained within buildings or trees. Starlings will also readily take over nest boxes. To mark the Starling’s territory, the nest entrance will usually be streaked with droppings.
Adult Starling’s may produce 2 broods in a season, one in early April and one in mid May.
Distribution & Roosting
The Starling population in Britain substantially increases in the Autumn during the month of September through to early November. This is due to immigrant birds flying in from Europe and north west Russia. These birds will then return from mid February to the end of April.
Starlings will establish regular flight lines between feeding sites and roost and can sometimes fly huge distances of up to 20-30 miles to feed.
It is not uncommon for tens of thousands of birds to be present in a large roost and the noise and fouling produced by this roost will be considerable.
Feeding
The feeding habits of Starlings change depending on the time of year. They are mainly insectivorous during the breeding season, with leather jackets providing a vital portion of their diet. This will then change in the winter as they then become omnivorous and will feed on invertebrates, stubble, roots, stock foods and scavenge at refuse tips.
Control
There are several effective solutions available to control a Starling population. To ensure that the most effective solution is provided we would need to assess each situation on an individual basis.
The available methods include acoustic bird dispersal systems as well as the installation of preventative mesh or net.
