Hello readers!

Happy end of finals!

If I have to pick something to share among the brilliant species I observed this term, it has to be birds. Birds are my favorite group of creatures on campus but observing birds is not an easy task. I’ve lost count of how many times I only had the luck to look at a lovely bird for 3 second before it flew off briskly. Sometimes things got worse and I could only listen to a bird’s beautiful warbling songs without even seeing it. I’m sure you all have similar bitter-sweet experiences with birds.

But the bird I met on May 7th was an exception.  I was walking to Mclaughlin when this bird appeared on the lawn next to the sidewalk. Its body was overall gray with shades of green and brown and white dots on the back. The only parts that brightened things up a little bit were the conspicuous yellow beak and pinkish/reddish claws with three front toes and one hallux. My later research told me that what I had observed was a European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris.

The starling walked around on the grass, constantly bending down to poke the soil. The European starlings like to forage in open areas with short vegetation such as lawns like this. It was probably trying to find its personal favorite food. We don’t know what that was since this species has an extremely diverse diet that varies geographically, with the age of individuals, and with season.

As I excitedly approached it to observe more and take photos, it didn’t look frightened at all and only walked a little away from me. It didn’t fly away even when I was so close as about one meter from it. Pleasantly surprised, I followed it around as it leisurely waddled across the sideway to another part of the lawn.

Was this bird just an exception among all the shy and easily-frightened birds? It turned out that European starlings are generally insensitive to disturbance of any kind. Even if there is any initial response, it disappears quickly after repeated exposure to the disturbance. I haven’t found out the reason behind this but maybe they are just adaptable to urban environment.

Sadly, I was in a rush so I had to fail this approachable bird and left after 2 minutes of observation.

However, now we have all the time in the world to go outside and immerse yourself in the beauty of nature! So no more missing chances!

Until next time,

Olivia

Source:

Cabe, Paul R. (1993). European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America: https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/eursta. DOI: 10.2173/bna.48