Backyard Shenanigans

As often happens after a snowfall, the European Starlings descend on my bird feeders and clean them out.  Today there were almost a dozen of them bickering over the feeders,  along with all the usual suspects of cardinals, chickadees, titmice, wrens and Blue Jays.  I have a caged suet feeder that is supposed to keep the large Grackles and Starlings out, as well as a weight based feeder that closes when heavier birds land on the perch.  For the most part they work pretty well, but the Starlings have learned to elongate their necks and reach into the suet feeder.  They have also learned to bounce on the weight based perch and reach in for some seed.  They don’t seem to mind the hole closing on their beaks, because they just keep at it, relentlessly. In addition the squirrels were making their attempts at reaching the feeders, too.  Oh, well, I’ll refill them tomorrow.  Everyone has to eat.  

My shooting opportunity was limited by the fact that I could only get the porch door open wide enough to get the large lens through because of ice and snow, so I didn’t have much field of view and had to take this with the bird on the feeder pole. There was also a bitter, icy wind so I had to limit exposure to my face and hands. 

At first glance, this Starling looks like an ordinary dark bird with some light spots.  It is only when the light is right and upon close examination that you can see the extraordinary colors in the course feathers.  We call them European Starlings because they were brought here in 1890’s from Great Britain by Shakespeare enthusiasts and are often considered pests. I wonder if being a pest is now also grounds for deportation. I hope not because I rather like them.