While I was attempting to establish if my new Starling box was being used, the resident male was consistently perched in a tall tree in the front hedge every time I went out to restart recording (the camera shuts down after ten minutes automatically). So attached to his slender branch was he, that I decided to potentially waste nine and a half minutes of footage of tree, and point the camera at him, press record and leave it running while I went back indoors on whatwas an annoyingly cold morning.
As it turns out, he stayed for the duration, but after a few minutes, shuffled upwards slightly and so ruined the shot completely. I might not have bothered posting any of the footage here, but while reviewing it, my attention wassuddenly drawn to a perfect Blackbird call. At first, since there are plenty of other birds around, I thought it might have been a coincidence that the Starlings' bill moved slightly at the exact moment the call was heard - it was so much louder than any of the other vocalisations the bird emitted - but soon realised that it was indeed a beautiful example of the Starling's ability for reproducing the noises of the surrounding environment.
Ruined somewhat by the occasional car (and apparently a low flying Spitfire from the sound of it??), and the usual breeze that for some reason turns to arctic blizzard when it hits the microphone, I nevertheless thought it worth sharing.
