On Sunday I observed a starling on the garage roof, standing near
the rain gutter, which has a solid gutter guard over it. As I was
(grudgingly) admiring its spiffy new spring plumage, the bird
flew into the witch hazel, which has been blooming since
late January. The bird stuffed its bill full of witch hazel blossoms,
and then flew to the end of the gutter, where the guard has lifted
just enough for the starling to fit inside. Obviously they're nesting,
or at least investigating it as a nest site, although it's about to be denied
them.

What I'm wondering is whether the starling was just making use of
handy nesting material, or whether starlings decorate their nests
with pretty things like bowerbirds.

(Or maybe it was the starling equivalent of "honey, I'm home"
and he was bringing her a sweet-smelling bouquet?!)

--Pat

Pat Valdata, Elkton, MD | 
"The natural function of the wing is to soar upwards
and carry that which is heavy up to the place where dwells the race of gods.
More than any other thing that pertains to the body
it partakes of the nature of the divine." --Plato