Scientists step up mission to stem starling decline
A dramatic decline in the number of starlings in UK gardens is baffling scientists.
Even though it is the second-most common garden bird in the country, its numbers have declined nearly 80 per cent in the past 30 years.
The RSPB, which conducts the annual Big Garden Birdwatch, reports a fall from an average of 15 starlings per UK garden in its first survey in 1979 to a low of just over three this year.
And while they remain second only to house sparrows in terms of numbers spotted, starlings were seen in the gardens of fewer than half the 600,000 people who participated in January’s survey.
RSPB scientist Mark Eaton says it has been a steady decline in the past 25 years, but experts are still not sure of the reasons.
Possible reasons are changes in feeding habits and changes beneath the soil, affecting their food source.
“We’ve been monitoring this decline and encouraging people to step up and help birds like starlings, but we will also be conducting some scientific research into the exact reasons for these declines,” said Dr Eaton.
“It would be a tragedy if the numbers continue to plummet and we will do all we can to help stop this happening.”
The decline of the familiar bird, noted for its spectacular dusk flying displays – murmurations – is mirrored across northern Europe, and it is included on the charity’s red list as a bird of high conservation concern.
Starlings are still a familiar sight around the UK, particularly in southern England, but their sharp decline in the last quarter of a century has put them on the RSPB's red list, attracting the highest conservation priority.
They are widespread in the UK, except for in the highest parts of the Scottish Highlands. They are most abundant in southern England.
They are known for murmurations - when hundreds of thousands of them flock together in the sky above roosting sites, flying in spectacular patterns before settling down for the night.
The RSPB research has only just begun, so it may be some time before scientists can identify the reasons for the dramatic fall in numbers.
But they will use their findings to identify ways in which to curb the decline and boost the UK population once again.
A spokesman explained: “They will be looking at what happens to the birds after they leave the nest, and try to trace them.
“They will also be looking at feeding sites in areas where they are doing well and where they are not, and comparing them – including use of the land and what goes underneath the surface.”
The ultimate goal is to be able to take steps to stem the decline. “We will be offering advice to people who use land in different ways, whether gardens or out in the countryside.
“There may not be a quick fix, but all measure of things can help: making sure people are aware, and protection in the legal sense to make sure nature is looked out for and that the government is putting the right protection in place.”
* The house sparrow remains the UK’s most common garden bird, with the blue tit just behind the starling in third place.
(A ‘murmuration’ – or a flock – of starlings. Image credit: RSPB)