IT'S DESTINATION RUSSIA AND UKRAINE FOR CLEETHORPES' OVER-WINTERING STARLINGS

 

Starlings gather for the night on the amusement wheel on Cleethorpes Beach

MOST of the thousands of starlings that spend autumn and winter in Cleethorpes and other parts of North East Lincolnshire have now returned to northern Europe to breed.

Although some of our starlings are all-year residents, the local population is hugely increased by arrivals from Russia, Ukraine and Baltic countries such as Lithuania.

They are particularly conspicuous (and noisy) on Cleethorpes pier and on the amusement wheel on the beach, both of which  provide places to roost.

They also compete with gulls and feral pigeons in foraging for discarded potato chips and other scraps.

Some scientists have surmised that they are also responsible for spreading the avian influenza that has recently devastated flocks of wild geese and ducks, plus stock at commercial poultry farms, but there seems to be limited evidence for this.