Starlings vanish from our gardens as numbers fall by 80% in 25 years. (Mail.)
The RSPB has now launched a study into this decline, believing a possible cause to be changes in soil affecting the insects they feed on.
Following on from their unwarranted conclusions about the relative harmlessness of magpies to their fellow avians - entirely contradicted by my own observations and many more bird lovers across Yorkshire - it looks like The RSPB has got it wrong again!
Their calculation methodology is flawed. Snapshots - largely from schoolchildren just do not possess an overview.
In recent years we had indeed seen many fewer starlings than ever before. To that point they were on the mark. BUT what they do not seem to have registered is that starling numbers have increased significantly in the last two years. Again this is the fruit of my personal observation. We have gone from them having a rarity value in S13 to be almost as common as they used to be. They are back squabbling on our lawn and bird table after quite an absence.
I was a longterm member of the RSPB but resigned some years ago and my allegiances are now firmly with the trust called Songbird Survival which seems to have the best interests of dickie birds as their primary concern. This group appears to work out the whole truth with unerring regularity.
Following on from their unwarranted conclusions about the relative harmlessness of magpies to their fellow avians - entirely contradicted by my own observations and many more bird lovers across Yorkshire - it looks like The RSPB has got it wrong again!
Their calculation methodology is flawed. Snapshots - largely from schoolchildren just do not possess an overview.
In recent years we had indeed seen many fewer starlings than ever before. To that point they were on the mark. BUT what they do not seem to have registered is that starling numbers have increased significantly in the last two years. Again this is the fruit of my personal observation. We have gone from them having a rarity value in S13 to be almost as common as they used to be. They are back squabbling on our lawn and bird table after quite an absence.
