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budgielover
Pinellas Park, FL
(Zone 9b)
May 2, 2008
5:55 PM Post #4897949
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This pair nests in my eaves every spring. This year one of the babies has fallen out twice. Getting ready to put him back but he was pretty cold so he's under a heat lamp for a few minutes. Pics blurry but it wouldn't stay still 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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dellrose
Conway, MO
(Zone 5b)
May 2, 2008
6:08 PM Post #4898009
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Looks like a European Starling. |
heyitsmejudy
Lawrenceville, GA
May 2, 2008
6:13 PM Post #4898036
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That was my guess, too.
Where the heck's Resin when you need him?!?!?
:)
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Mima56
Thayer, MO
(Zone 6a)
May 2, 2008
6:13 PM Post #4898041
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I agree. These are not native birds and are considered nuisances up here. |
heyitsmejudy
Lawrenceville, GA
May 2, 2008
6:18 PM Post #4898061
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Mima... My mom's in Odessa, Mo., and I think she wears the door hinges out on her deck door opening and closing it, scaring starlings off her feeder. I told her now she knows what I feel like always sending my cocker spaniel to keep the squirrels at bay! I (knock on wood) haven't had a starling at my feeders. Cowbirds a while back but I outwitted them. |
budgielover
Pinellas Park, FL
(Zone 9b)
May 2, 2008
6:30 PM Post #4898116
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Thanks
I'll look up. Just returned baby to the nest warm & hungry.
Mama returned just as I was coming down the ladder. Guess I'll have to rescreen this year to encourage them to nest elsewhere. If they are around the rest of the year I never notice them. Odd they know to come back to the exact same spot every year, |
Resin
Northumberland
(United Kingdom)
(Zone 9a)
May 2, 2008
6:50 PM Post #4898203
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Yep, Starling
Resin
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budgielover
Pinellas Park, FL
(Zone 9b)
May 2, 2008
7:36 PM Post #4898444
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Thanks all |
OldNed
Merritt Island, FL
(Zone 10a)
May 2, 2008
9:21 PM Post #4898863
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Little Starling trivia:
In the 1890's, Eugene Schieffelin decided to release into the United States all of the birds mentioned in the works of Shakespeare. Starting with only a few pairs of European starlings released in New York's Central Park, the starling became Mr. Schieffelin's biggest success. Living in large flocks, starlings have become one of the most abundant and widespread birds in America. |
Mima56
Thayer, MO
(Zone 6a)
May 2, 2008
10:22 PM Post #4899125
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Judy, how in the world did you outwit your cowbirds?? We have cattle close by, and they always seem to congregate close to cowpens, etc., and then move into our yard.
Our poor dogs are so old they don't patrol like they used to. The rabbits have even learned that they're harmless now.
Re: starlings...have you ever seen 'clouds' of them? Hundreds of thousands, literally, over rice fields. shiver, shiver. |
OldNed
Merritt Island, FL
(Zone 10a)
May 3, 2008
5:54 AM Post #4900068
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Another account of this crash said there were about 10,000 birds in the flock...
[HYPERLINK@www.planecrashinfo.com] |
budgielover
Pinellas Park, FL
(Zone 9b)
May 4, 2008
5:49 PM Post #4905968
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Well, baby fell out again yesterday and today, 2 fell out. Mom has a fit when they do. Can't let the dogs or cat out till I check first. I am putting a larger tote with old towels directly under the hole and raised a few feet off the ground the break their fall. I doubt it's the last I've seen off them. LOL |
Mima56
Thayer, MO
(Zone 6a)
May 4, 2008
7:17 PM Post #4906268
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You are a sweet heart! Most of us try to run starlings off our properties! |
budgielover
Pinellas Park, FL
(Zone 9b)
May 4, 2008
7:45 PM Post #4906416
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I can certainly understand that, especially in agricultural areas but I'm pretty much city and there's not much around here for them to hurt. Now fruit rats and squirrels are a different matter. LOL |
Mrs_Ed
Whiteside County, IL
(Zone 5a)
May 4, 2008
8:24 PM Post #4906608
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Do you think they are really falling out, or have they fledged? Could be like others that they are merely learning to survive. |
budgielover
Pinellas Park, FL
(Zone 9b)
May 4, 2008
9:28 PM Post #4906981
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They are about 2 weeks old. Eyes were not open Sat. They are now. Pin sheaths are starting to wear off so that about 1in of feather tips are open. |
heyitsmejudy
Lawrenceville, GA
May 5, 2008
11:23 AM Post #4909373
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Mima... I took all my feeders down for several days and they (cowbirds) moved on. A few that returned, or showed up later, were met with a new feeder, the Squirrel Buster one that closes when obese (I know, NOT politically correct... but they are called COWbirds for Pete's sake!) birds or (cuss word) squirrels get on it. |
foxyphloxy
Cortlandt Manor, NY
(Zone 6a)
May 5, 2008
12:03 PM Post #4909539
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Looks like a starling...did you see tiny white-ish spots on the back?..If so, I agree with Dellrose. |
shebs45
Chicago, IL
(Zone 5b)
May 5, 2008
1:22 PM Post #4909847
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The worst thing I've found with starlings is when a whole tree is full of them and they load your car and sidewalks with poop. It's pretty disgusting. |
seedpicker_TX
Plano, TX
(Zone 8a)
May 5, 2008
5:45 PM Post #4910923
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I like starlings. They are as good as the crows for allerting the nearby presense of a hawk, raptor, or eagle.
On countless occasions I've heard the "alert chirp" and sure enough a few seconds later saw a hawk fly by.
The hawks have made several attempts at getting our little yorkies, so I truly appreciate these little "pests", and their tenacity and giving warning calls. :0)
Not to mention all the other birds, and doves that get a few seconds warning from these birds, too... |
claypa
West Pottsgrove, PA
(Zone 6b)
May 5, 2008
11:02 PM Post #4912486
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Starlings kill our native cavity nesting bird species (bluebirds, swallows), so they're more than just a nuisance. |
budgielover
Pinellas Park, FL
(Zone 9b)
May 6, 2008
12:04 AM Post #4912844
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They must be more of a nuisance up north than here. We don't have a whole lot of them.
The babies fell out again. When I got home tonight I found them snuggle up in the towel. Looks like some kind of seeds were in with them so mom but be trying to feed them in the tote. I brought them in for the night due to wandering cats. I'll put them out in the tote and see if she will continue to care for them. I fed them some cooked corn & carrots and some left over baby parrot forumula and will feed them again in the am in case Mom abandons them. I'll try to get a picture of the babies for better identification. |
budgielover
Pinellas Park, FL
(Zone 9b)
May 14, 2008
5:02 PM Post #4951335
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Well had them in the tote for a week and Mom came down the feed them in it. They outgrew it and I found them skittig around the ground. Big mistake in my yard with 3 dogs & 2 cats. Found an old cockatiel cage in the garage and put them in it. Mom continues to come down and feed them all day through the cage bars. I have no contact other than givig them a fresh water dish and seed which they have begun to use. I will be releasing them back to Mom as soon as they are fully flighted and she can finish weaning them off. 
Click the image for an enlarged view.
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seedpicker_TX
Plano, TX
(Zone 8a)
May 14, 2008
7:14 PM Post #4951821
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Great set up! I am surprised the mother is feeding them through the cage, but hey! It is working!
Good thinking, Jan!
-T |
budgielover
Pinellas Park, FL
(Zone 9b)
May 14, 2008
11:00 PM Post #4953021
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Can't beat maternal instinct. LOL |
budgielover
Pinellas Park, FL
(Zone 9b)
May 16, 2008
10:25 AM Post #4959417
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Well, this am seemed like the perfect release day. Clear, sunny, no wind, no rain forecast.
Let the parents feed them for a few hours and waited till the parents were watching from the cable overhead. Opened the cage door and went in the garage to watch from the door. Parents came down to feed and babies came out the door and took off to the nearest tree with parents in hot pursuit. They're on their own now. Talk about your kids leaving the nest. LOL Gonna miss the little guys. |
