A new thread, and it may be research oriented!
An interesting observation has come my way regarding the introduced European
Starling in
Victoria.
On return to Melbourne from the coastal Victorian town of Queenscliff near Port
Phillip Bay
heads a few weeks ago, Richard Loyn and myself made a brief visit to the Swan
Bay wetlands
to check for water/wader birds. While crossing the causeway to the island
Richard noted
Starlings feeing on the mudflats just like medium sized waders do. As we could
not stop,
their food was not determined. I thought this curious as I hadn't observed
such behaviour
before by Starlings but gave it no further thought.
Today I received some ~regular waterbird counts from Eileen Collins of Chiltern
who is involved
in the Regent Honeyeater Recovery effort. On one of the count sheets she noted
100s of
Starlings feeding in the shallows of Great Southern Swamp near Wangaratta in
northeast
Victoria. Coincidence?
My theory is that due to the particularly dry summer in Victoria this season,
the ground is
much harder to dig in if you're a Starling. Wetland edges then might 'fit the
bill' so to speak.
Keep a look out for your next flock of Starlings and see where they are
feeding. Is this
'normal' or or at least not unusual behaviour for the species?
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Martin O'Brien
Wildlife Policy Officer
Flora and Fauna Branch
Department of Natural Resources and Environment
GPO Box 41
East Melbourne, 3002
Victoria, AUSTRALIA
Tel: +61 3 9412 4273
Fax: +61 3 9412 4586
e-mail
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