Starlings – clowns or villains?

This demonstration is something we fail to understand. For reasons unknown, starlings gather together shortly before sunset as if programmed to fulfil this daily engagement. How they know where to meet remains one of the mysteries of this display, but they do seem to gather from a wide area, all arriving around the same time.

Numbers vary enormously. In our case I observed their tentative gathering last year at this time. They then assembled on the uppermost branches of a large, leafless ash tree and at a signal which we never noticed, they took to the air and flew in formation around the houses and trees. At that time, there would be around 12-15 of them each evening.

This year, they seem to gather in the same place and we’ve noticed single birds and pairs flying towards the assembly point as the sun is going down but once they take flight their numbers increase. It is difficult to estimate the number of flying birds but most of their flights were in the region or 45-50 birds, and on one occasion I estimated some 80-90.

They are too far away for us to hear any noises they might make although they are known for the clamour they produce prior to roosting. This could be why such gathering as known as murmurations, although their noise is more than a mere murmur. Not only that, they can also cause severe damage to crops when they assemble in such large numbers – this is the result of their efforts to find food and in their defence, they do eat large numbers of agricultural pests such as wireworms and leatherjackets.

In some areas, these gatherings of starlings can number many thousands and when they take flight, they produce a spectacular display which lasts for a few minutes. Our local birds fly for around ten minutes or quarter of an hour before disappearing as they head for the roosts, but I’ve never discovered their landing site. I’m not sure whether they all roost together or whether they return from whence they came.

One of the locations for their flights is the RSPB reserve at Saltholme near Middlesbrough but when we checked a couple of weeks ago, the influx of migrating birds had not arrived, probably because the weather seemed more like summer than autumn. Each year, our local numbers are swollen by hundreds of thousands of migrants from various parts of Europe. I’m not sure whether any of those in our mini-murmuration have arrived from Europe or whether they are local birds; if any are immigrants they will depart in the spring.

Noisy and dirty birds, starlings are usually considered the rogues of the bird-world. They are aggressive, cheeky, determined and opportunist; they will steal food from other birds and can do immense harm to growing crops especially when they arrive in large numbers.

However, they are partially redeemed because they kill and eat huge numbers of agricultural pests but they can also strip a field bare of a new crop of corn. One other talent is their mimicking of the calls of other birds as well as a range of common noises. I remember one in our village who could make a realistic impression of a squeaking gate. It took some time for the owner of the gate to wonder why it continued to squeak after he had oiled it.

Whether clowns or villains, they can produce those amazing flocks in flight before settling down to roost in the autumn. And finally, a piece of associated weather lore. An old saying tells us that if starlings gather in large numbers, we can expect rain.

More unicorns

Following my notes about unicorns in this column last week, I have come across more information about this supposedly mythical creature. I say “supposedly” because several overseas travellers reported the presence of unicorns and firmly believed in their existence. Last week I reported sightings in Florida (1564) and the Canadian borders (1673) but as late as the 19th century its presence was confirmed in Tibet.

Two reliable travellers recorded its presence. One was the Abbe Huc (Abbe meaning abbot) who in the 19th century wrote that the unicorn really existed in Tibet where it was known as the serou, while in Mongolia it was called the kere. Another was a British soldier called Major Latta who, in 1820, stated that beyond doubt the unicorn existed in Tibet where it was known as the tso’po.

The ancient Chinese referred to it as Ky-Lin and it was said to have risen from the Yellow River around 3,000 BC where its appearance heralded the death of an important person such as an emperor, or the birth of a person who would assume greatness. It was regarded as a gentle creature despite its solitary pointed horn, and was also regarded by the ancient Chinese as the symbol of longevity.

Not surprisingly, it was frequently depicted in art but various paintings and sculptures in eastern countries have suggested a range of different sizes. Some showed it to be the size of a fawn or small deer, while others made it around the size of a horse and in some cases as large as an elephant. It could be either gentle or fierce, and pictures of its horn varied from a few inches up to four feet.

Caesar settled the matter when he backed it both ways by suggesting a unicorn was the size of a bull but shaped like a stag. Most depictions suggested it was the size of a horse as suggested when it appears in coats of arms.

Today, of course, despite reported sightings, we accept the unicorn as a mythical creature. So how does this affect the status of the Loch Ness Monster? Most of us believe Nessie is a legend despite very realistic reports of sightings and even photographs but there is no suggestion that the Loch Ness Monster is in fact a unicorn.

Hot question

With summer behind us, we can bathe in the reflected glory of bumper crops of fruit and large harvests thanks to abundant sunshine and comfortable temperatures. Nonetheless, it has raised the question of global warming, a tendency reflected in the presence of some butterflies which have been noticed further north than their usual range.

Some weeks ago (D&S, Sept 29) I reported the sighting of a speckled wood on the southern boundary of the North York Moors National Park and more recently a marbled white has been noticed in the same area. Whether these sightings, both further north than usual, are due to our long hot summer or to global warming is something for us to consider – not that we can do much about it!