Big decline in garden starlings
The number of starlings seen in people’s gardens has fallen by almost four-fifths in less than 25 years, says the RSPB.
The starling, famous for its winter displays known as “murmurations” involving up to hundreds of thousands of birds, has seen a steady decline in numbers since the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch began in 1979.
This year’s survey of garden birds by members of the public revealed an average of just over three starlings per garden, compared to 15 in 1979.