I love this view. I have watched it for 7 years now. I get to see the weather change, an occasional raptor or flicker fly overhead, a wagon at this is the place national monument run out of control... horses rearing...large dust clouds forming behind it... white canvas wagon cover billowing in the turmoil, mountain bikers and hikers, people play with their dogs, and (during this time of year) the European Starling flocks as they glide gracefully from the light posts, up and over the building, and then back.
European Starlings are gregarious in the autumn and winter months. Meaning, you can only see these wondrous flocks during this time of the year. My sister in Law witnessed the intense beauty of a starling flock last year at her home in American fork. The starlings, sitting in her back yard, suddenly burst into the air. The sound of their wings filled the home as she watched them take off. It must have been an incredible experience. And, it must have been a very large flock of starlings due to the sound she described. She seemed disappointed* when I told her what they most likely were. It was not rare or cool bird but, in my opinion, something rare would never be able to create the awesome display she witnessed.
*She was probably disappointed because I always follow with the identification of European Starlings with "they are a highly invasive and introduced species**". The negativity I have for these birds is a learned response. It is the response of a birder.
** Starlings were introduced by a man who hoped to introduce any bird mentioned in shakespears plays. A romantic and devastating idea.
The European Starling is considered a pest in America. It destroys crops and spreads disease due to its massive numbers but it's also a hole-nesting species which affects native, cavity-nesting species due to competition for nest sites. For example, in North America, the Purple Martin is now widely dependent on artificial nest houses put up by humans, which must be protected from colonization by European Starlings.
Side Tangent. In one of my favorite books, one of my favorite authors, describes the Starling as something we see within ourselves.
"Perhaps we [the human species] project on to Starlings that which we deplore in ourselves: our numbers, our aggression, our greed, and our cruelty. Like Starlings, we are taking over the world....What makes our relationship to starlings even more curious is that we loathe them, calling in exterminators because we fear disease, yet we do everything within our power to encourage them as we systematically erase the specialized habitats of specialized birds. " Terry Tempest Williams, Refuge
Side Tangent within a side Tangent: Starlings always remind me of my bushtits due to this e-mail.BTit: "I had a thought to the other day I wanted to share with you. It concerns the euro-trash and Garbage eaters :). I was stuck in traffic one day watching pigeons mate*** under the freeway overpass and the thought occurred to me: You know we (as humans) come in and drastically alter the environment. We destroy food sources and shelters and water supplies, and yet amazingly there are a few species that not only survive, despite what we do, but thrive. They are able to adapt and use our man made buildings for their shelter, and eat our food source (ie garbage). Shouldn't we admire these species the most? .... Yet its these species that we consider pests, and obnoxious. And its the fragile species that can't weather the change that we admire the most.
*** not an uncommon occurrence, for pigeon matting and/or a birder to speculate upon it.
Even though, European Starlings, are a pest they are also a beautiful and successful species that can create a visual and audible intensity not unlike what I saw in Omaha when I went to see the migration of a hundred thousand Sandhill cranes.
A group of starlings has many collective nouns, including "constellation, "filth", "murmuration", "scourge", and "vulgarity" I think the polarity of the names is interesting since it reflects the diversity of how we feel towards them. For instance, although in the Americas we tend to think of them as pests and exterminate them, in Denmark they are seen differently. The flocks get so huge that it is actually a tourist attraction called "Black sun". Check out some images here. It's an amazing and beautiful natural phenomenon and is described on the visit denmark website as an "aerial ballet" where "enormous flocks of black starlings, sometimes hundreds of thousands, create fascinating patterns in the sky, virtually blocking out the sun" Doesn't that sound amazing? I want to go and see it. Perhaps my mom and I can work in a birding / genealogy trip. (I would even try to stay awake when you tell me all those stories about my family, Ma!)
I guess, I realized while watching them out my window today, that I actually look forward to seeing them in the winter as they form their large flocks***** and this.... is my call to you, to not miss out on it.
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. - Marcel Proust, 1871-1922
From Mom:
ReplyDeleteI think the birds remind me of the alfred hitchcock movie "theBirds". It was a really spooky show for the time. I watched it on the phone with danny as I was home alone and one should never watch alfred shows alone. When I see the starling swarm into my hugh trees I get this feeling..... I love to watch them fly they do so beautfully. i have hundreds at a time in my trees. I often wonder where they sleep. So for now I am glad they are in my trees but I do watch to make sure they don't come get me.
i read it =]
ReplyDelete1. I love the way write, I love the think, and I love the way you observe the world around you.
ReplyDelete2. I have often wondered if I were to ever go over to Europe and see the starlings where they are not "highly invasive and introduced species" if my perspective of them would be skewed. In other words could I see past my own negativity toward them. I love that you can do that now. And remind me to see their success in their abundance.
3. I think I was too old the first time I saw "the birds" to appreciate the creepiness of it. (For me it was more funny than scary). Although its loosely base on a short story we read in Jr. High which was much more creepy, and way more philosophical. I wish I knew the name of it.
You are a wealth of information. I never knew so much about starlings. I tend to say "oh, isn't that nice" and go on with my day. I guess that's one reason humans are starling in quality...we notice and move on.
ReplyDeleteI don't know how you get any work done with such a wonderful view.
I've also found that some of the most common things around us can bring some of the most entertainment and joy. I remember watching a sparrow try to fly away with a string for his nest. The problem was, the string was tied to the fence and as the bird flew he'd be pulled back down. What followed was a colosal bird tantrum, as he screeched and pecked at the string...only to try again. I could relate to his frustration, yet it was still hilarious.
And one last tidbit...Wait Until Dark is another great Hitchcock film.
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