Starlings are among the most plentiful garden birds in the world, yet many people see them as a pest.
This perspective is based mostly, though not exclusively, on plant damage, which is all too common because of the starlings’ nesting behavior and sheer numbers.
If you’ve noticed a significant starling population in your yard, you may be wondering, do starlings return to the same nesting site two years in a row?
Starlings will almost always stay in a colony, and that colony will, quite certainly, return to the same breeding places each year. Sometimes, they may even return to the exact nest used in the previous breeding season.
What is interesting to note, however, is that young starlings have a memory and awareness of where they were raised, and they will avoid these places because they understand that there is a chance of mate with their own father or mother.
The young starlings will fly away from their original colony once they have matured enough to fly, and will join up with a different colony.
This new colony will, naturally, have its own breeding ground.
Do Starlings Migrate?
When you picture a starling, you’ll probably picture it as a resident bird since we are most common to seeing them year-round.
While this is mostly true, some starlings will migrate.
This is more typical of parts of northern Europe, though, and those will usually migrate to the UK.
Starlings in the USA that are residents up to the latitude of about New York City may migrate further south to Mexico.
Usually, this is done mainly for shelter and food and they usually return to their breeding grounds when a slight rise in temperature occurs.
Generally, migrating starlings will arrive at their location for fledging around about September, although most starlings will stay in October.
During the winter months, you will see starlings congregating in very large numbers and huddling together for the best cover!
There are reports of there being over one million starlings in one flock (not uncommon)!
You may have heard of the word murmuration, an event which occurs just before they settle, where flocks of starlings perform displays in the air diving, swooping and gliding, all one movement.
It can be quite the sight!
So, when the end of winter occurs, the starlings make their way back to their breeding grounds, usually between February to March.
Returning To Nesting Grounds
When it comes to discussing starlings, we refer to the bird’s movements in what is known as a colony, although the nesting area is sometimes spread out over several hectares.
If you are an interested birdwatcher, and you are observing a specific breeding area, then a few years down the line you could be observing the same adult starlings come back to breed.
For a good number of starlings, returning to the same nest from the previous year is not at all unusual.
What is highly unlikely is for any of the birds you are observing to be the young from the previous year.
As mentioned earlier, juvenile starlings will “know” that they need to find a new colony to avoid inbreeding, so when they become mature they leave the nesting grounds to “find a new family.”
Do Starlings Mate For Life?
The courtship ritual of starlings is similar to that of other birds.
Typically, the male will initiate the nest construction process, gathering grass, straw, twigs, and other materials to build a nest over a few days.
During this process, he will sing and mimic other birds, which is the first step to attracting a female.
After this process is concluded:
- he will then begin lining the nest with scented herbs, flowers, and leaves, etc.
- To attract a female, the task of nest building can be as simplistic or as elaborate as the male wants.
When a female notices the nest-building behaviors of the male, she gives him her complete attention.
The male will then impress the female with his nicely designed feather plumage and that will typically be the determining factor for the female. The two birds will mate.
After matings, the female will participate in completing the nest building process.
Interestingly, her first job, among many, will be to remove any of the tidbits the male used to improve the nest.
She will replace those tidbits with more practical items such as,
- wool
- moss
- and feathers
An even more curious behavior to witness is that before eggs have been laid and/or have hatched out, the male might wander off to find another new female to mate with, which could be from the same colony.
While this does not happen all the time, it happens a lot.
This curious behavior rationally allows for the male’s mate to get assistance in nest-building as well as increases the odds of producing viable, strong offspring.
A key aspect regarding this behavior is that, if the male mates a second time in a season, the second mating will likely be less successful than the first.
Further, there is a reasonable chance that the two parents will have a conflict over the second mating.
Conclusion
Starlings are truly amazing birds that exhibit a strong propensity to return to the same breeding location on a yearly basis.
Many birds will also return to the nest they built the previous season.
However, when a starling is born, it will leave to join another colony in order not to mate with a parent or sibling.