Juvenile Starling
Starlings used to be called Stares. The word Starling was only used for juvenile Stares. We now use the cute version of …
Starlings in fine weather
It’s good weather, so I’ve returned to Rapness Mill to see if I can get some better action photographs of Starlings. Rapness …
Feeding time
It’s important to time having your chicks at the time of maximum food abundance. The Starlings of Westray seem to have mastered …
Stares
The word Starling means little Stare, a young Stare, a juvenile Stare. Stare is what adult Starlings were always called until everyone …
Starling in the Meadow
As I arrive in Broken Tower Meadow in Rome a group of Starlings scatter from their fossicking in the meadow. This one …
Sunset Starlings
That orange sky was enough and yet the Starlings made it even more of an experience.
An early morning
I’m not usually out early in the morning. You might have noticed that my blog contains many, many sunset photographs but precious …
Stare
Adult Starlings used to be known as Stares. It was the juveniles which were called Starlings. By the 16th Century, they were …
Murmur
Urban Starlings. Winter. Rome. A park. All the perfect ingredients.
Storno
There are only a few Swallows left in Italy in November, so it was fascinating to see Starlings taking their place as …
“The flesh of the stare is very bitter”
This week I’m reading Reverend George Low’s Fauna Orcadensis from 1813. Today it’s the entry on the Starling: This is a harmless, …
A day trip to Stronsay
Stronsay is one of the ‘other’ Orkney islands. I’ve not been there before because there’s no way of getting there from Westray …
The first walk, Britain’s rarest bumblebee and a fattie cuttie
Arriving back on Westray means I want to experience it all at once. I want every sensation. I want to be at …
Star Starling
When a Starling flies by I always take notice. They are spectacular birds, either on their own or in flocks of thousands …
Neighbours
Not everyone can get on. Conflict is inevitable. When we are all packed in too close to one another then tempers are …
Patterns
The Starlings at Einar make incredible abstract patterns on the wires.
Starlings
There’s a young Starling, with a fluffy brown head, trying to negotiate the wind on Westray. It’s heading for my chimney pot. …
Rainbow Stormbird
Starlings need a brand refresh. I’m surprised they haven’t engaged a top London marketing firm to challenge public perceptions of them. Their …
Starlings and the Cormorant Tree
There’s a Cormorant coming in fast and low. The sun is setting and it’s time to roost at the Lago di Chiusi: …
A whale of a murmuration with a raptor on its tail
The Starlings are gathering at the Lago di Alviano and they’re swirling overhead. One moment they’re a tight, dark ball, the next …
Somersettee
We’ve had a trip to Somerset. We left sunny Devon on the only sunny day forecast this week and arrived to thick …
There are stars in the daytime sky
There are Starlings in the sky. Their plumage sparkles like stars that twinkle in the daytime. Their green and purple iridescence is …
Westray Coast 50 – Day Four
My adventures on the fourth of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day Three
My adventures on the third of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Westray Coast 50 – Day One
My adventures on the first of five days walking the entire coast of Westray.
Knots landing at the Peedie Sea
I’m wandering the shore at Kirkwall Harbour for an hour before the ferry takes me to Westray. I’m loving the complex singing …
I’ve flown 6,000 miles and all I can see are Sparrows, Starlings and Pigeons
I’ve travelled from the UK to Washington DC. It’s 6,000 miles. I’m hoping to see some exotic birds and photograph them. The …
Sturnus vulgaris
Sturnus vulgaris is the scientific name of the Common Starling. Its literal meaning is ‘Starling Common’. They are certainly common in my …
More guano than Peru
Fortunes were built on the stuff. Entire estates and magnificent country houses like Tyntesfield near Bristol were funded by it. People are …
Pecking order
My first evening here and I’m desperate to get out and about on my bike. Starlings flutter and shuffle their elaborate pecking …