Starling

Smaller than blackbirds, with a short tail, pointed head, triangular wings, starlings look black at a distance but when seen closer they are very glossy with a sheen of purples and greens. Their flight is fast and direct and they walk and run confidently on the ground. Noisy and gregarious, starlings spend a lot of the year in flocks.

This Starling was photographed at Denny Wood in the New Forest, Hampshire. Between the months of March and October, Denny Wood is opened by the forestry commission as a campsite, and access is therefore limited to campers. As with most of the New Forest there is a vast population of ornamental tree's and wildlife - by far the most populous are the New Forest Pony's. Walk into any area of woodland and you will find a variety of birds such as Blue Tits Great Tits, Coal Tits, Jays and Woodpeckers - elsewhere you will probably bump into cattle, deer and even pigs...