Starlings Are Here
Photo: Arne Ader
Translation: Liis from Forum
Starling flock on power lines.
‘Nõgikikas’, soot-cock, is an Estonian folk name for the starling which it shares with the black woodpecker. Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) have already been seen in many places, even outside the coastal areas by birdwatchers, in North-Eastern Estonia. Although it is still too early for nest-building for this songbird –seeing the reigning winter weather – the chance to occupy the best nest sites is worth taking a risk. Frost does not deter starlings, it is always possible that warmer weather comes overnight and invertebrates begin moving around. But if winter holds on many songbirds die because of the weather.
The starlings now move in groups and large flocks; they are still on their way to the nest sites. But if warbling arias come from a treetop, with hen cackles and other curious sounds in between, then a male starling probably already has found a nest site and now waits for the females.
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