[kepler]

There is an old Irish saying/simile -

Chomh haerach le druid

As cheerful as a starling (or gay! if you like).


This fella in my backyard yesterday looks happy enough!

[mojorex]

wow thats a beautiful photo!

[walltoall]

Lovely shot and good on you. I'm a great admirer of the 'stare' As a kid we had one lived by our house for a couple of years just after television came to that area and the sixty foot aerials went up. He used to copy the sound made by the TV lead falling down the aluminium pole. I only discovered starlings were brilliant mimics on hearing the TV cable banging on the pole one day it was dead calm.

Keep taking wildlife photos!

[michelle M]

Wow, I never knew that they had such lovely colours.

[sal]

fantanstic

[kepler]

Thanks for the nice comments!


This is a few minutes later...

http://i40.tinypic.com/28lf7f8.jpg%5B/IMG%5D


or if you prefer black and white (like moi) you may prefer this






keps

[kepler]

and speaking of ' mimic' birds- have you all seen this?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y&feature=related

[Sive]

Wow, thanks for the link, kepler, that was amazing footage.
I was gardening recently, and surprised by the sound of a child's screams, when I realised it was actually a starling perched in a tree, and that he had probably picked up the sound from the national school in the village......think of all the screeches in the playground!

[Garlicbreath]

Fantastic photos keplar, I could watch starlings all day, they're wonderful birds.

[Liparis]

I remember in the late 60's and early 70's when those horrible 'Trim Phones' were all the rage and you were'nt anyone if you didn't have one Starlings in small hamlets etc became very adept at imitating that trill the phones made. Very often, myself included, people in their garden would find themselves going into their house to try and answer a phone that wasn't ringing The amazing thing was, because the birds only heard them ring inside a house, that was exactly the soud they made, a phone ringing in the house They are really incredible imitators. I've heard Jacdaws do similar. One here sometimes called by imitating my daughter shouting "dad!" I haven't heard it this year though. As a kid I had a pet Jackdaw which was a great mimic, but I admit, they aren't as good or as clever as those little starlings.
Bill.

[kepler]

These baby starlings were playing at the water feeder(hence the droplets) in the Garden yesterday!

http://i44.tinypic.com/2db5x02.jpg


keps

[kepler]

Can anyone tell me what type of bird this is- it was on the railway track near the Royal Canal in Leixllip.

I think it is either a heron or a crane?

http://i40.tinypic.com/1znpkeq.jpg



keps

[kepler]

Actually I think I know the answer as Wikipedia says Cranes fly with their necks extended and this guy did too... so let's go for a crane!

http://i41.tinypic.com/2zppjsm.jpg


keps

[Sean Ph'lib]

Great pics of starlings - my favourite bird. I always keep a nestbox up, specially for them, and they nested in it again this year. They're tremendous workers, (like most birds) - the number of leatherjackets, wireworms etc they drew in to their brood would do your heart good to see! And when the hen was sitting and the cock wasn't so busy, he spent a lot of his time sitting on the branch above the nestbox singing beautifully - serenading his mate, I suppose!

[Sean Ph'lib]