Starlings in the nest box on Saaremaa
Posted: March 25th, 2017, 10:29 pm
This is the great tit nest box we were watching last year for the bird of the year. The great tit did not manage to breed as a wryneck emptied the nest box (http://www.looduskalender.ee/n/en/node/320) but did not return not nest, later the great tit spent the nights there, but right at the end of its year a woodpecker occupied the box and spent the nights there until recently starlings discovered this stately home. We witnessed a fierce fight there (http://www.looduskalender.ee/n/en/node/1155), and now a pair of starlings comes in the morning to work a bit on the nest inside and court each other a little bit.
The nest box is at the outskirts of Kuressaare, the capital city of the Estonian island Saaremaa. It is attached to a radio tower, ca. 6 m above ground. Originally meant for great tits, the woodpecker has worked on it several times and made the entrance larger.
The new inhabitants, starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), are medium sized passerines. They have glossy black plumage with a metallic sheen, which is speckled with white at some times of year. Their legs are pink and their bill is black in winter and yellow in summer; young birds have browner plumage than the adults. The underparts of adult male common starlings are less spotted than those of adult females at a given time of year. The throat feathers of males are long and loose and are used in display while those of females are smaller and more pointed. The legs are stout and pinkish- or greyish-red. The bill is narrow and conical with a sharp tip; in the winter it is brownish-black but in summer, females have lemon yellow beaks while males have yellow bills with blue-grey bases. They can usually be sexed by the colour of the irises, rich brown in males, mouse-brown or grey in females.
The common starling is largely insectivorous and feeds on both pest and other arthropods. The food range includes spiders, crane flies, moths, mayflies, dragonflies, damsel flies, grasshoppers, earwigs, lacewings, caddisflies, flies, beetles, sawflies, bees, wasps and ants. Prey are consumed in both adult and larvae stages of development, and common starlings will also feed on earthworms, snails, small amphibians and lizards. While the consumption of invertebrates is necessary for successful breeding, common starlings are omnivorous and can also eat grains, seeds, fruits, nectar and food waste if the opportunity arises.
Unpaired males find a suitable cavity and begin to build nests in order to attract single females, often decorating the nest with ornaments such as flowers and fresh green material, which the female later disassembles upon accepting him as a mate. The males sing throughout much of the construction and even more so when a female approaches his nest. Following copulation, the male and female continue to build the nest. Nests may be in any type of hole, common locations include inside hollowed trees, buildings, tree stumps and man-made nest-boxes. Nests are typically made out of straw, dry grass and twigs with an inner lining made up of feathers, wool and soft leaves. Construction usually takes four or five days and may continue through incubation.
Breeding takes place during the spring and summer. Following copulation, the female lays eggs on a daily basis over a period of several days. If an egg is lost during this time, she will lay another to replace it. There are normally four or five eggs that are ovoid in shape and pale blue or occasionally white, and they commonly have a glossy appearance. Incubation lasts thirteen days, although the last egg laid may take 24 hours longer than the first to hatch. Both parents share the responsibility of brooding the eggs, but the female spends more time incubating them than does the male, and is the only parent to do so at night when the male returns to the communal roost. The young are born blind and naked. They develop light fluffy down within seven days of hatching and can see within nine days. Nestlings remain in the nest for three weeks, where they are fed continuously by both parents. Fledglings continue to be fed by their parents for another one or two weeks. A pair can raise up to three broods per year, frequently reusing and relining the same nest, although two broods is typical.
During the migration time they amaze us with their large flocks (murmurations) of thousands of birds flying in amazing formations.
(Source: Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_starling)
Links to the camera:
tt.ee: http://webcam.tt.ee/eng/ - On the left column choose "Nest box"
or:
JW-Player: http://webcam.tt.ee/player/?s=pesakast&w=640&h=360
VLC and Android: rtmp://webcam.tt.ee/live/pesakast
The nest box is at the outskirts of Kuressaare, the capital city of the Estonian island Saaremaa. It is attached to a radio tower, ca. 6 m above ground. Originally meant for great tits, the woodpecker has worked on it several times and made the entrance larger.
The new inhabitants, starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), are medium sized passerines. They have glossy black plumage with a metallic sheen, which is speckled with white at some times of year. Their legs are pink and their bill is black in winter and yellow in summer; young birds have browner plumage than the adults. The underparts of adult male common starlings are less spotted than those of adult females at a given time of year. The throat feathers of males are long and loose and are used in display while those of females are smaller and more pointed. The legs are stout and pinkish- or greyish-red. The bill is narrow and conical with a sharp tip; in the winter it is brownish-black but in summer, females have lemon yellow beaks while males have yellow bills with blue-grey bases. They can usually be sexed by the colour of the irises, rich brown in males, mouse-brown or grey in females.
The common starling is largely insectivorous and feeds on both pest and other arthropods. The food range includes spiders, crane flies, moths, mayflies, dragonflies, damsel flies, grasshoppers, earwigs, lacewings, caddisflies, flies, beetles, sawflies, bees, wasps and ants. Prey are consumed in both adult and larvae stages of development, and common starlings will also feed on earthworms, snails, small amphibians and lizards. While the consumption of invertebrates is necessary for successful breeding, common starlings are omnivorous and can also eat grains, seeds, fruits, nectar and food waste if the opportunity arises.
Unpaired males find a suitable cavity and begin to build nests in order to attract single females, often decorating the nest with ornaments such as flowers and fresh green material, which the female later disassembles upon accepting him as a mate. The males sing throughout much of the construction and even more so when a female approaches his nest. Following copulation, the male and female continue to build the nest. Nests may be in any type of hole, common locations include inside hollowed trees, buildings, tree stumps and man-made nest-boxes. Nests are typically made out of straw, dry grass and twigs with an inner lining made up of feathers, wool and soft leaves. Construction usually takes four or five days and may continue through incubation.
Breeding takes place during the spring and summer. Following copulation, the female lays eggs on a daily basis over a period of several days. If an egg is lost during this time, she will lay another to replace it. There are normally four or five eggs that are ovoid in shape and pale blue or occasionally white, and they commonly have a glossy appearance. Incubation lasts thirteen days, although the last egg laid may take 24 hours longer than the first to hatch. Both parents share the responsibility of brooding the eggs, but the female spends more time incubating them than does the male, and is the only parent to do so at night when the male returns to the communal roost. The young are born blind and naked. They develop light fluffy down within seven days of hatching and can see within nine days. Nestlings remain in the nest for three weeks, where they are fed continuously by both parents. Fledglings continue to be fed by their parents for another one or two weeks. A pair can raise up to three broods per year, frequently reusing and relining the same nest, although two broods is typical.
During the migration time they amaze us with their large flocks (murmurations) of thousands of birds flying in amazing formations.
(Source: Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_starling)
Links to the camera:
tt.ee: http://webcam.tt.ee/eng/ - On the left column choose "Nest box"
or:
JW-Player: http://webcam.tt.ee/player/?s=pesakast&w=640&h=360
VLC and Android: rtmp://webcam.tt.ee/live/pesakast