Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Acrobatic Starlings

At first glance you might think that this European Starling is in the act of flying towards the suet feeder; but a click on the photo to enlarge it will reveal that its feet are actually clinging to branches as it flutters it wings to maintain balance while feeding on the bird suet in the wire cage. We have not had many Starlings at our feeder area this year but when placing the suet feeder in our trees this week it didn't take long for these two to arrive.
Seen in the composite photo above, created through the use of photo editing, the Starling's winter plumage of white-dotted feather tips on its black, glossy feathers is outstanding.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think for most feeders of birds, this is quite a nightmarish image! ;)

Tony Morris said...

It might be a nightmare on your side of the pond, but here in the UK their numbers are dropping worryingly. They are beautiful and the photograph captures that perfectly.

Mary said...

Love the composite shot, even though I don't love starlings. Would like to send them back across the pond to the UK. They only come to my feeders in the most desparate moments of heavy snow. They usually stay out in the fields....thankfully.