Nature Note #163: Lawn Birds
Zee-jirp! Zee-jirp! A buzzy whistle rattles the windows outside of the apartment as fog veils the trees in the valley. A little black bird sits in one of the pines, fluffing its throat feathers and glancing around. It has a bright yellow bill and jet fighter wings that let it blast around the eaves and roof like an F-16. Three weeks ago, when we finally moved into our apartment in Marcellus, Alison and I immediately noticed the starlings nesting under the eaves of our home. The European starling ( Sturnus vulgaris ) isn't a bird that birders admit to enjoying, at least most of the time. For the purists, they are an unwelcome pest that steal nesting sites from other birds in the spring. The rest of the year is spent in roving flocks that roost in city trees and building archways and supports, leaving snowy layers of guano in their wake. While most homeowners would seek to eliminate these birds from the exterior of their homes, I see this as an opportunity to observe th...