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Bird of the Month European Starlings are stocky birds with short tails, triangular wings, and pointed yellow bills, which in flight make them look like four-pointed stars (giving them their name). Starlings have impressive vocal abilities; they warble, whistle and chatter; they make smooth liquid sounds, harsh trills and rattles, and individuals can mimic up to 20 different bird species. Starlings travel in large flocks with blackbirds and grackles and eat nearly anything, from insects and fruits to livestock feed and garbage. Starlings typically live around people and are often considered a pest. Starlings are native to Europe and western Asia and were introduced in other parts of the world. All the European Starlings in North America descend from 100 released birds in New York's Central Park in the 1890s so America could have all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's writings! Today, European Starlings are common year round throughout the U.S. and most of Canada, and in winter part of the population moves south into northern Mexico. The European Starlings spotted by Tom Paulek on Jan. 2 were in a flock of hundreds of Brown-headed Cowbirds and possibly other blackbirds that roost in the cattails in the pond by Highland Springs Road during the winter. ~ Steve Edelman Birding CLUB Our bird walk on Jan. 2 was another record-breaking day and produced another Four Seasons first record as the Birding Club flourishes through the pandemic! The day started as our group of masked birders walked Trails A and B, then we drove up to The Courts to bird the retention basin at the east end of Trail D, where we found three Wilson's Snipes. Four Seasons' first Wilson's Snipe was found there by John Hansen on Dec. 3 and by Jan. 2 there were three; it looks like these birds will stay the winter! The basin also produced a Lark Sparrow, a few American Pipits, and a flock of Lawrence's Goldfinches. We ended the group birding with 24 species and an additional 12 species were spotted during the day by Tom Paulek, Helene Leonard, and me, to set a new winter record of 36 species! The highlight of the day was Tom Paulek's sighting of "250+ Brown-headed Cowbirds with a small number of European Starlings;" the Starlings were a first record, Four Seasons bird #107! Email steve.h.edelman@gmail.com for more information and to receive club communications. ~ Steve Edelman FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | FEBRUARY 2021 39 Check with your club contact to confirm meeting place, date, and time. Wilson's Snipe in the big grassy retention basin behind The Courts (east end of Trail D) on Dec. 19. Photo by club member John Hansen European Starling. Photo by Lars Plougmann/Flickr/CC by-SA 2.0 Club member John Hansen got this stunning shot of a Red-tailed Hawk on his backyard fence on Dec. 16 Italian American Club The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect all of our clubs and groups, and as of this writing, we are not able to meet in person. The vaccine has been received in our area, but it is believed that it will be many months before we are all vaccinated. In the meantime, we need to wear masks, keep social distance between each other and people not residing with you, and wash or sanitize your hands. This pandemic will pass, and we will be able to meet in person and have our meetings at The Courts' facility when this is over. In the meantime, if you are interested in having a Zoom meeting to say hello to each other, make plans on what we would like to do until we can meet in person again, please let Barbara and me know by email, text or phone. If we get enough interest in a Zoom meeting, Barbara and I will set one up. Thank you for being patient during this unprecedented time in our lives. We miss you all. Be safe and healthy. ~ Barbara Dipoma and Jerry Monahan, (951) 212-8898, Jmbronxboy44@gmail.com

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