Starling - 1949 status

Sturnus vulgaris vulgaris

In 1880 bred only in a few places, including St Davids, but by 1894 rapidly establishing itself.  Still rare in same parts as a breeder, and curiously local in distribution in the summer.  Absent from many villages, eg: Fishguard, in the west especially (only six pairs St Davids 1948), but has lately colonised Skokholm (two pairs 1944, about six pairs 1948), and Skomer (one pair 1946).  Abundant winter visitor, roosting in large numbers 1947-8 at Sealyham, Woodbine (nr Haverfordwest), Goodwick and Tenby marshes, and in smaller roosts elsewhere (eg Monk Haven).  These visitors possibly include immigrants from the Continent.

R.M.Lockley, G.C.S.Ingram, H.M.Salmon, 1949, The Birds of Pembrokeshire, The West Wales Field Society

Starling - 2003-07

The Starling has been declining in Britain since the 1980’s, particularly in the south and west. The BBS notes a 53% decrease in Wales between 1994 and 2007. Comparing the results of the 1984-88 survey with that of 2003-07 shows a 69% contraction in range. There has also been a decrease within the surviving distribution. Just two pairs were breeding at Skokholm and none at Skomer, where there were 10 pairs and five pairs respectively in the 1980’s. This decrease was evident elsewhere in the county, for instance perhaps no more than five pairs survived in Haverfordwest and at Strumble Head a former thriving colony of 10 pairs was down to just one pair by 2004.

Combining the contracted distribution with such indications of decrease suggests that less than 200 pairs were breeding in Pembrokeshire at the end of 2007, whereas it was estimated there were 2,000 pairs in 1988.

Graham Rees

 

Fieldwork 2003-07 (based on 490 tetrads) 

Red = breeding confirmed = 42

Orange = breeding probable = 16

Yellow = birds reported but with no signs of breeding

Total tetrads in which registered = 58 (11.8%)

Starling - 1994

Breeding resident, winter visitor and passage migrant

Very few Starlings bred in /Pembrokeshire prior to 1880 but they have slowly increased since. Mathew (1894) noted that they were increasing and Lloyd's diaries detail the patchy distribution they had achieved during 1925-1937. Lockley et al. (1949) agreed that they were rare nesters in some parts of the county while Davies (1948) gave details of some 50 pairs•in just eight localities.

The Breeding Birds Survey of 1984-1988 found Starlings to be well distributed in towns but sparse in many rural areas (see map). Very few bred in trees, but they bred freely in rock crevices in mainland cliffs and on the offshore islands. The majority used buildings, and their patchy distribution may be due to a lack of suitable structures in some areas. A population estimate has been made by taking fairly accurate figures from the islands and some mainland towns (where local observers live), and adding them to estimates for other urban areas and to an estimated average of ten pairs per tetrad for rural areas, giving a total of about 2,000 pairs overall.

They flock from June onwards, with juveniles predominating. Many of these are undoubtedly locally-bred birds, but as numbers grow during July and August it seems likely that others from outside the county make their way to the coastal strip.

Vast numbers pass through Pembrokeshire from October to early December, ringing recoveries showing that they include birds from the Continent as far east as Karelia, in Russia. The majority appear overnight and there are many records from the lanterns of the Smalls and South Bishop lighthouses. There is also considerable diurnal movement, principally towards Ireland, including 10,170 logged flying north-west out to sea at Strumble Head on 6 November 1983.

The coastal pastures of Pembrokeshire swarm with Starlings during the passage period and these are also the principal feeding . grounds for the large numbers that winter in the county.  Many small to medium sized roosts are formed but by late December the majority are concentrated into a few large roosts. Sites have varied but in recent times have included the reedbeds at Bosherston Pools and Canaston, and the conifer plantations on the flanks of the Preseli Mountains and at Dudwell. Birds spread out to feed during the day, some travelling considerable distances. The Preseli roost gathers birds from all over north Pembrokeshire as far as the Teifi, as well as from the south and east. The Dudwell birds fly in from St David's to Fishguard in the north, from the western coastal plain and from the western Castle Martin peninsula. Starlings feeding on the Castle Martin ranges east of Flimston have been noted flying towards the Bosherston, roost but those on Range West depart northwards and the flightlines can be traced back to Dudwell. This sharp division has also been noted elsewhere, for example Starlings feeding at the village end of the Trecwn valley fly to Dudwell but those feeding at the Llanychaer end head for the Preseli roost. It is not known whether individuals remain faithful to a particular roost. The numbers using the roosts can be considerable, at least 200,000 having been estimated at the Preseli roost, and rough counts made at Dudwell suggest a total of two million Starlings assemble there.

Cold weather advancing from the east causes large numbers of Starlings to move through and to Pembrokeshire. Prolonged bad weather sometimes causes extensive mortality. Most movements are towards the west and are sometimes heavy; for example, birds passed at a rate of about 1,000 per 15 minutes at Marloes in January 1952 (Conder 1954) and over 52,000 passed over Milford Haven in 41/2 hours on 14 January 1987, an average of nearly 3,000 birds per 15 minutes.

Spring passage mainly takes the form of a fairly sudden departure, which is presumably nocturnal, during March. Starlings have been recorded at the lantern of the Smalls lighthouse throughout March and in early April. Night observation by radar, conducted near Tenby in March 1968 (Johnson 1969), recorded a strong passage of starling-sized birds overflying Pembrokeshire from north-west to south-east, consistent with through passage from Ireland.

 

Fieldwork 1984-88 (based on 478 tetrads) 

Red = breeding confirmed = 155

Orange = breeding probable = 32

Total tetrads in which registered = 187 (39.1%)

Donovan J.W. & Rees G.H (1994), Birds of Pembrokeshire

Starling - 1970s breeding

Red = breeding confirmed

Orange = breeding probable

Yellow = breeding possible

Starling - 1980s winter

 

The BTO winter atlas showed that Starlings were present in most 10km squares during the winters of 1981-82, 1982-82 and 1983-84.

The darker the colour, the higher the relative total count for each 10km square.  The darkest blue represents over 2,061 birds seen in a day.

The largest numbers were recorded around damp pastures and at roosts.

Graham Rees 

Starling - 1894

Species account from M Mathew, 1894, "The Birds of Pembrokeshire and its islands"

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