Large flock of birds overhead Why the south of Bonn attracts thousands of starlings
Bonn · A large flock of birds above Bonn's Südstadt is attracting the attention of many walkers and residents. Thousands of starlings are circling there again. This is what's behind it.
It is an impressive sight in Bonn's sky. Once again, a large number of starlings can be seen forming a large flock and flying over the roofs of the southern part of the city. The phenomenon is not new. Last year, too, thousands of migratory birds showed their flight maneuvers around the Ermekeil barracks near the Bonner Talweg.
Anyone out on the streets shortly before sunset can perhaps spot the large flock of birds in the sky. The following video of a GA reader shows a flock, spotted between the Reuterbrücke and the entrance to the A565.
For ornithologists, the phenomenon is not unusual, says ornithologist Heiko Schmied of the Bonn Ornithological Society. Bonn ornithologists say that starlings primarily form such groups to protect themselves from predators such as sparrow hawks and peregrine falcons. In the group, the probability of being attacked by birds of prey is lower. During the day, the starlings are on the move in search of food and usually return to their roost in the evening.
Despite large flocks, the starling is on the decline
According to the study, city centers are climatically favorable because they are warmer and more sheltered from the wind. The birds fly from eastern and northeastern Europe to spend the winter here. Starlings from the region, in turn, make their way south in the winter to return in the spring. The native birds and those from northern and eastern Europe thus alternate. Due to the mild temperatures in recent weeks, more birds are settling along the Rhine River, according to Schmied. "What will be interesting to see now is whether the current cold snap will scare the animals away again," Schmied says.
Just a few hundred years ago, there were only isolated, smaller groups along the Rhine that settled here in winter. It is a sign of climate change that the flocks are becoming larger in the meantime. In contrast to other bird species such as the cuckoo, which for genetic reasons flies to Africa for the winter when the days become shorter, the starling is only driven away until it is warm enough. The birds also find more food where people live. But according to Schmied, the large flocks belie the fact that the starling is very much in decline. The bird's European breeding populations have declined overall, partly because of the intensification of agriculture.
Millions of starlings in Rome
By the end of February or March, the nesting sites here will have mostly disappeared again. According to the expert, the largest roosts of the birds can be observed in southern European cities such as Rome: In the Italian capital, several million starlings make their rounds during the winter.
Original Text: Andreas Dyck / Translation: Carol Kloeppel
