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I couldn’t figure out why all the peanuts were suddenly disappearing from my birdfeeders so quickly. Then a few days ago I opened the shades to discover a whole family of starlings.
Normally I scare starlings away from the feeders, but I couldn’t help but laugh and enjoy the frantic scene playing out in front of me. This starling pair is raising 5 squawking youngsters. Everyone wants food and they want it NOW!
I would like to believe it was dad who took the kids “out to eat” so an exhausted mom could get some much-needed rest. But the poor bird couldn’t pull peanuts out of the hanging feeder fast enough, and only seconds after a mouth was stuffed with peanuts, it was asking for more.