It was really windy and cold two days ago, perhaps causing many birds to come to our feeder as I have mentioned before. In addition to the ones that came regularly, there was a newcomer. It was an European Starling that somehow strayed from the large flocks it usually belongs to. You may see them as small black clouds drifting from one part of the sky to another.
The white dots on this bird are part of its winter plumage.
This bird is not native to North America. One hundred of them were brought from Europe to New York’s Central Park at the end of the 19th century by a group that wanted America to have all the birds mentioned by Shakespeare. Today there are 200 million of them from Alaska to Mexico, all descended from the original 100.
The single starling that came to our backyard only stayed for about two minutes. It watched other birds congregate around the bird feeder, but did not trying to compete for the sunflower seeds. Then it flew away and has not been seen since.
great image you captured. I love the starling even if they are supposed to be a nuisance 🙂 Their colors in the suns rays are just wonderful
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Thank you for commenting, Judy. Starlings may be a nuisance, but they also eat a lot of insects that could damage crops.
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It feels like looking at those images from Hallmark card 🙂 these images are really beautiful and well framed…
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Thank you, Indah!
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Lovely! Maybe you can make a calendar with all these photos… 😉 Helen
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Ah, too many projects, so little time… 🙂
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How fortunate you happened to see it that two minutes!
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Thanks Katelon. Like someone said on wordpress, always look up and you may see something else to photograph.
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Starlings are beautiful in their winter plumage.
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Thank you, Pat!
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I’ve read about this unwelcome literary gift before: the things people do !!!
But it is the starling and its amazingly detailed plumage (in parts) that first cause me to start taking another look at ‘ordinary’ birds. 🙂
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And I am glad you decided to take another look!
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Beautiful captures, Hien!
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Thank you, Amy!
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Great
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Thank you, Anh Nhi!
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Stunning
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Thank you!
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superb!
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Thanks!
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Wonderful shots and great history.
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Thank you, Victor!
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