Hopeful

My starling blips usually have birds in the tens of thousands in the spectacular murmurations of Leighton Moss. I haven't been recently to look, but I guess wintering birds will soon be starting to head back to continental Europe to breed. Our resident birds are settling into their breeding quarters.

This male caught my eye and ear this morning, singing and displaying in the dead ivy on the side of our neighbour's house. The house is rented and somewhat neglected, the timbers in the eaves are particularly in need of attention creating entry points for the opportunistic starlings and sparrows to make their nests. The starling was alternating between his perch in the ivy, and his nest hole under the roof slates, singing hopefully from both, but with no sign yet of a mate.

Although we are still having wintery weather, his brown winter beak has transformed to yellow with a blue base. As he sang he puffed out his neck feathers and occasionally as here fluttered his wings. How do you describe a starling's song? They are all quite individual. They sing continuously for a minute of more with a mixture of mechanical sounds and more melodic notes, they are frequently mimetic, though this one doesn't incorporate any recognisable snatches of other bird songs - though round here it is not unusual to hear them mimicking the bubble of a curlew.

I do like the the arrow tipped feathers, they always remind me of the classic arrow markings on a prisoner's uniform (though were prisoners really ever issued with such clothes?).

As for the roof, it's home to quite a few house sparrows too, while a pair of jackdaws have moved in where an air brick has somehow fallen out.