Rose-coloured Starling: After Sunday's disappointing dip and in the rain no less I thought I would chance my luck and try to the Collington bird.
This morning I was tasked with a breeding bird survey in the Midlands and once i was done I decided to take the M1 home which meant sa short diversion to see the bird.
Upon arriving and after finding somewhere sensible to park I got chatting to a passing birder who uttered the eternal words 'you've just missed it, its gone to ground'
Typical.....!
There was about a dozen birders there already, neatley linned up along the lane, buisly chatting amogst themselves. The group draw quite a bit attention from the locals as they passed by walking their dogs and on their pushbikes.
I only waited a short while before the straling reappeared in its favoured cherry tree, the only cherry tree along the lane that had ripe berries.
After landing it seemed to wait a while before tucking in to the cherries.
The rose-coloured Starlings or Rosy starling (Pastor roseus) originates from eastern Europe, breeding in places like Albania, Croatia, Romania, Slovakia, Turkey and Ukraine, so it was quite an event to see one in West Yorkshire.
These are gorgeous little birds, with their pink waistcoats and long hair, over here in the UK as a vagrant bird they tend to lead a nomadic solitary life, this bird wasn't hanging around with any other starlings and was furiously chasing any other berry eating bird out of its tree.
A note on social distancing, at a twitch its no longer enforced, sure there were blokes asking other birders to keep their distance and some in an aggressive manner and then completely contradicting themselves once the bird had made an appearance as they stood tightly together to get a picture.
I guess in these situations all you can only do is what is practical, keep safe and keep your distance.
Dominic cummings has a lot to answer for......
