Tuesday, 16 May 2017

Hungry starlings

This young starling is keeping a sharp eye out for a parent returning with food.  This hole, in a dead sycamore opposite my front door, hosts starlings every year.  I posted photos of it two years ago.

This is the mother with a beakfull of St Mark's flies.


This is the father with suet from one of the feeders.


The mother again, this time with leatherjackets (a favourite starling food) and a fly.


She also brings suet from the feeder.


This chick is in the second hole excavated by the woodpecker this spring but which was taken over by starlings.


Here the father brings a suet pellet.


This time it's a leatherjacket.


This is mother with suet.


And more St Mark's flies

The chicks have been fed at the nest holes for a couple of days now so I expect they will fledge soon.  The starlings usually leave the garden within a few days and don't return until the spring.

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