On the Wildside: Young starlings have suddenly arrive in the wildlife garden

However, the real story soon becomes clear as these very demanding youngsters sit around calling loudly for parental attention. Their insistent demands quickly lead to the frenzied activity of the parent birds involved in the constant occupation of providing food for their insatiable youngsters. Drawn by a mix of calci-worms, mealworms, and fat-balls, the starlings soon arrive in numbers, and I assume have bred successfully somewhere nearby. Migratory birds will arrive from northern regions later in the summer, but these early birds must be locals. Using spherical mealworm dispensers my feeders have had up to 40 starlings at a time, which is not so bad for a species supposedly in decline.

Indeed, in Britain, starlings are one of the ‘Red Listed Species’, which means they are considered to be of high conservation concern because of declining populations. For instance, it is believed that the breeding population in the United Kingdom fell by 82% between the years 1970 and 2022.

The reasons for this remain unclear but the usual suspects are to do with our own intensive lifestyles and tidiness. So, potential factors include loss of grassland habitat and associated insect food sources due to intensive farming and modern housing, home improvements, and other development leading to reduced availability of suitable nest sites. Drying of upland wet bogs and heather moorland is a compounding factor as this dramatically reduces the emergence of leather-jackets or cranefly larvae which are a summertime staple for many starlings.

We can all help to safeguard the future of these birds by providing additional food in the garden. However, somehow, we also need to ensure an adequate supply of available nest-sites and of feeding habitat.

Professor Ian D. Rotherham, researcher, writer & broadcaster on wildlife & environmental issues, is contactable on [email protected]; follow Ian’s blog (https://ianswalkonthewildside.wordpress.com/) and Twitter @IanThewildside