General Discussion

Anyone else see the natural air show put on this afternoon/early evening (about 4.50pm) by the starlings?

Whereabouts Lynne?

We watch them most nights between 4.15 & 4.45 on the Exeter road next to the post office.

great sight.

As BobRees says.

Thanks for info on location, but are you facing seawards or inland when you see them?

Try looking up at the sky Cassandra

As BobRees says - Exeter Road, sort of over the postoffice. And looking in an east/s.east direction seawards (but looking up at the sky of course!) direction might help. And thenyou won't be able to miss them!

The reason I asked which way you were facing is because they must be roosting somewhere around there & I can't think where it might be. In Teignmouth,for example, they roost under the pier & so you see them swirling around before they settle down for the night. How many of them do you think there are, only approximately of course.

@Lynne - don't forget to count them for this weekend's bird watch ;)

Just made a point of watching our feathered friends again to see where they went when they finished their display - just in case they went off in a Teignmouth Pier direction. But no. Dawlish overnighters they most definitely seem to be. As you say Cassandra, where they roost seems to be close to where they do their aerial display.

I've no idea how many there are. I've seen much bigger flocks elsewhere though - in Brighton for instance there used to be (still is I imagine) a massive flock that congregates, gives its display and then settles down for the night on the abandoned West Pier.

I don't want to say online where our Dawlish starlings are roosting, although I have a good idea, as I wouldn't want to draw attention to the exact spot and have them harmed in any way - but I'm pretty certain now, having watched them drop from the sky, that I know where they go for a bit of shuteye.

I have a small group of starlings which gather in a bush in my garden. The only thing which seems to have done them harm is a sparrowhawk which has taken about 2 or 3 over the past few months.