Birding--indoors

We had another “new” species show up at the Aerie today. Actually, it showed up IN the Aerie.

A European Starling found its way into the chimney pipe for the wood burning stove that sits in the basement. I heard it scrabbling within the stove pipe trying to do the impossible¬—fly straight back up the 6-inch metal pipe. Luckily for the G-D starling the stove did not have a fire in it. How it got into the chimney is something of a mystery. There is a cap on the chimney—or at least there is supposed to be a cap on the chimney—to prevent embers from escaping and to keep pests like this out.

The starling tends to make its nests in any tiny little cavity opening they can find. You can see them make use of the pipes from which stop lights hang at most intersections in urban areas. We once had one find a way into the space between the roof and drop ceiling in a classroom in which I taught. For about three weeks we could hear the nestlings chirping every time mom or dad brought some delectable item to them. That can really disrupt a lesson. They have been known to displace bluebirds and wrens from nesting boxes.

In the winter, starlings gather in massive flocks and often commute from the city, where the roost on building ledges or bridge girders, to the suburbs, where they search for seed in any exposed grass along highways. I was once on my way into NYC via the Lincoln Tunnel at sunset to see a basketball game at the Garden and was witness to hundreds of thousands of starlings heading home to roost under the ramp to the tunnel. The site was most impressive. Another time, I was in Washington, D.C. in February and had to walk out into the street when returning to my hotel after dinner because the sidewalk was cordoned off due to starling droppings. The building ledges and window sills were lined with thousands of noisy birds. These winter flocks may also contain Grackles and Cowbirds.

As the name suggests, the European Starling is not a native of North America. Along with the English Sparrow (also called the House Sparrow ) and several other birds, it was brought to the States in the 1880s by someone who wanted to bring over all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare’s plays. Both of these species found a land that was quite hospitable for them. All that horse manure in the streets made a fine food source. While both can be very handsome birds when taken in moderation, their numbers and ability to out compete native species have made them pests.