Starlings.........

[Wildieswife]

.............Well - I quite like them. They're pretty hard to capture as they're very fast and change position a lot - portrait/landscape/portrait/landscape Aaarggg. But, despite being viewed as pests by some countries (especially where they shouldn't be in Australia) I think their feather patternation and colours are quite stunning!

[Greg Beetham]

Stunning shots Wildeswife I agree the Starling is indeed a pretty bird, very nicely taken, great bokeh too. Btw welcome.
Greg
Ps I think besides landscape/portrait/landscape/portrait, you forgot to mention, backlit/top lit/obstructions/vanishing subject/focus error/exposure error/composition error/WB error/movement blur and bad background, hmmm did I miss any?
Pps I heard there was a constant vigil somewhere in the Nullarbor by a shooting team with shotguns, and their task is to knock out of the sky any Starling that is flying east or trying to cross the vast empty distance between the infected west and get to the uninfected east. Personally I think the only way they would make it is if/when someone smuggles some across in their car, it’ll happen…for sure, some people are just that stupid.

[aster]

Very nice closeups of the Starlings, Pat. : )

I love these birds for their subtle gem colours and patterns as well. You got their beauty nicely framed in these shots.

Thanks for sharing and I'm glad they are not considered pests in my part of the World. I love their sweeping flights as flocks during the evening and they make some very friendly nosises too. : )

Yildiz

[bakubo]

Very nice! I especially like #3.

[Wildieswife]

Thank you for the kind comments. They were too close really. It was difficult to fit them in the frame on some - hence the close portraits. We have a hide in the garden and get around 15 regular visitors plus another 10 sporadic drop ins. All in all we've seen 40 odd different species but not photographed them all ! I'd love to get the sparrowhawks NOT through the house window!

[Dr. Harout]

Wow, awesome shots, Pat.
And lovely bokehs, of course.

[Wildieswife]

Thanks again

Ps I think besides landscape/portrait/landscape/portrait, you forgot to mention, backlit/top lit/obstructions/vanishing subject/focus error/exposure error/composition error/WB error/movement blur and bad background, hmmm did I miss any?
Pps I heard there was a constant vigil somewhere in the Nullarbor by a shooting team with shotguns, and their task is to knock out of the sky any Starling that is flying east or trying to cross the vast empty distance between the infected west and get to the uninfected east. Personally I think the only way they would make it is if/when someone smuggles some across in their car, it’ll happen…for sure, some people are just that stupid.

I think you more or less nailed the problems faced by photographers of moving wildlife

As far as unwanted species introduction - what are humans like??? We are so silly. Here in the NW we are about to have a cull of Canada geese in the lake district.Their poo is turning stuff acidic which is impacting on the environment - so they say. I think the introduced game birds are fine as they keep the "Lah de Dahs" entertained in between large dinner parties etc etc

Pat

[Greg Beetham]

I doubt I would be able to kill a goose myself, not after remembering the book titled the ‘The Snow Goose’ I had read too me when I was very young…and yeah it’d be a tough job doing ‘Lah de Dah’ stuff, but I guess someone has to do it.
Greg
Ps I checked up on the Starling situation and I remembered the TV doco back asswards, it was the other way around the Starlings are in the East and trying too get to the West. My bird book shows that their range extremity is touching my area extending from the south although I’ve never seen one here, the most common introduced bird around these parts is the Indian Mynah, a tough competitor. Strangely enough the pair of Mynahs that live in and around my yard are nearly always foraging nearby with the Peewee pair, the four of them seem to get on well together.
I have seen large flocks of Metallic Starlings (bright red eye) in the Rainforest on occasion; they migrate back and forth between here and New Guinea.

[mvanrheenen]

Very nice shots Pat, especially #3.

The starlings here tend to land high up in the trees, where the branches all move by weight and wind. 'That doesn't help much when trying to shoot them in these poor light conditions.

Very well done and thanks for sharing!

Mark

[caporip]

Great shots of one my favoutite birds (not just for the plumage but for their entertainment value when they squabble at the bird table!)

[Birma]

Fabulous Starlings Pat - as you say they have an amazing plummage for such a common bird. Welcome to PCA as well .

[Wildieswife]

Thanks for the comments and welcome again

Pat

[David Kilpatrick]

Great to see them as they are - they don't tend to feed from our feeders at all, so we rarely see them close. But three to five years ago we had an overgrown laurel bush and a flock decided this was annual home. By the time they left, along with their incredible chatter and noise, we had about four inches solid starling manure over the entire area. Interesting thing is that it weathered very fast into good quality soil. They have not been back, probably because we got all the trees and bushes cut back - which has not affected the other garden birds.

David