The Shape of Starlings

Starlings gather in the branches of a thorn: they're sociable birds, in fact for them life seems to be one long office party. As they perch chattering to each other, preening and then dashing off to the next event in their busy lives I get the impression they're networking:

• where's the best turf to probe for insect food?

• who's nesting with whom?

• where are the most desirable nesting niches?

• who is going down in the pecking order and who's up there on those higher perches these days?

Thorn Branches

These springy looking hawthorn branches are enjoying their first spring of freedom. They've been in the shade of a large ash but that was felled last year.

We're at my mother-in-law's but, as usual, when I walked up here I wore my 8 x 30 binoculars. I say mine but they're an old pair of Barbara's; she went for a lightweight pair some years ago and at about the same time I dropped my old pair and they were knocked out of alignment.

Stylish? Perhaps not but optically these Carl Zeiss Jena are still very clear. They were made in East Germany before the Berlin Wall came down.

When I was younger I went for larger 10 X50s. Although they give that bit more magnification and light-gathering power these days I prefer to use something more compact that I'm more likely to carry around with me when I set off out.