A starling

[Benjy]

A Starling on my back fence tonight....

[Shadowman]

Nice catch.

[joebranko]

Posing!

[Saorsa]

I wish they had been kept in Europe. They are deadly to our woodpeckers and a lot of other birds that nest in treeholes.

[Ziggy]

Like the light in this one Bernard.

[IzzieK]

Ziggy beat me to it but I also like the light of this one. Starlings are protected here in Missouri - not allowed to catch nor shoot them. 'Wish I have some of them here in my backyard as a woodpecker poked a hole on the side of our house. We have two of them hovering around my feeder.

[Saorsa]

Ziggy beat me to it but I also like the light of this one. Starlings are protected here in Missouri - not allowed to catch nor shoot them. 'Wish I have some of them here in my backyard as a woodpecker poked a hole on the side of our house. We have two of them hovering around my feeder.

Why would Missouri protect an invasive species?

The European Starling became resident in the US when some literate idiot in NY decided that he wanted one of every species mentioned in Shakespeare to be in the US.

Woodpeckers make their own cavity for their own nest. As soon as they have done so the starlings come en masse and try to invade. The woodpeckers have now adapted and one adult is always near a nest under construction and they do not leave their young alone.

They are also flocking birds and, since I am in a sailing community, reviled for deciding that sailboat rigging is a wonderful place to hang out and defecate.

It's really nice that they eat insects but we have plenty of native birds that also fill that ecologic niche quite nicely.

[marlunn]

Brian, its only fair - we got your grey squirrel

I know what you mean, there is always someone ( normally with receding chin and large space between ears), who does not understand the environmental / ecological damage these intro's can do and think they look cute or something like that and the next generation+ has to try to clean up the mess. ho hum.

Bernard, very nice image thought and if you ever get the chance to see murmurations - awesome !

[IzzieK]

Why would Missouri protect an invasive species?

Seriously, I have no idea, Brian...government does many things to find an excuse to use taxpayer's money so what is new?