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The Herald THURSDAY,JANUARY 18,1979

By CMBO Naturalist Director Pete Dunne One of our most, abundant (if not endearing) bird species is the Starling, good old Sturnus vulgaris. Starlings may be found just about anyplace that they are not wanted, which covers just about everyplace l can think of. They are noises me, greedy, beligerant, opportunistic, as easy to kill as a cockroach and about as tough in the clinches as a cornered rat. They are, in short, a species which is likely to survive anything short of the end of the world.

Starlings are not native to this country. Despite their awesome powers of exploitation and proliferation (they often raise three broods a year) it is unlikely that Starlings would ever have gotten to the New World under their own steam. The Atlantic Ocean presents a pretty formidable barrier to land bird populations on either side of the waters. It took the , misguided assistance of a group of Shakespeare enthusiasts to do the damage. Their ambition was to introduce into the United States all of the birds mentioned in the works of Shakespeare. On

March 16, 1890, the zealous bunch opened a crate in Central Park, New York, and sent sixty Starlings to the four winds. Not content to dip into Pandora’s box once, an additional forty birds were released the following year. Wonderful to relate, it wasn’t long before a pair of the new arrivals took up housekeeping under the eyes of the Museum of Natural History. It was from this seed flock of one hundred birds that we can

trace the

untold millions of

Starlings

found in

North

America today.

During

the fall,

these

members

of the

family

Sturnidea, gather

into

tremendous flocks. Many of these flocks, in turn, home in on the tidal marshes. Their seemingly 'empathetic maneuverability on the wing is truely a marvel. How these tight packed flocks can turn as one bird remains one of the unanswered questions of bird study. More than once, the strobe flash of sunlight reflecting from the wings of a wheeling flock of Starlings has tipped me off to the location of a bird of prey that would otherwise have been missed at the hawk watch. At twilight, Starlings can be seen headirg for traditional communal roost sites. These may be located under a bridge, beneath the large awning of some historic landmark or in large shade trees along a quiet, residential street ... much to the dismay of pedestrians and people who park their cars along quiet streets, that second as Starling strongholds. Everything from rockets red glare to%>ombs bursting in air have been used to try to rid neighborhoods of the Starling peril. Success has not been great. Low voltage electric wires and chemical repellants provide some measure of relief. At least the birds move

somewhere else.

When winter gives way to winter-just-before-spring, Starlings go about the business of making more Starlings. Home can be nothing more elaborate than the underside of someone’s air conditioner or a dislocated drain pipe. The rule of thumb appears to be, if a Starling can get his head into it, it will make a great place to settle down and raise a family. It is not surprising that Starlings are quick to take over Bluebird houses and even Purple Martin houses. It is also not surprising that the Starling remains one of the greatest obstacles to the Bluebird comeback. Just in closing, the Field Identification of Winter Birds course will be held at the Wetlands Institute starting on Jan. 25th. Registration for this five evening slide seminar and five Saturday morning field trip course can be made by calling 368-3156.

County to Receive $476,531 Cape May County's share of the federal revenue sharing program was recently announced by Congressman William Hughes. These payments can be spent any way the municipality chooses, without the federal government dictating priorities. These funds are distributed according to a formula which reflects population, urbanized population, per capita income, income tax collections, and general tax effort of the recipient government. To date the county has received a total of $9,842,290. The quarterly payment to the County and municipalities is as follows: Cape May County, 143,842; Avalon Borough, 11,275; Cape May City, 30,489; Cape May Point Borough, 1,487; North Wildwood City, 31,699; Ocean City, 62,889; Sea Isle City, 17,779; Stone Harbor Borough, 8,550; West Wildwood Borough, 2,301; Wildwood City, 30,719; Wildwood Crest Borough, 24,211; Woodbine Borough, 11,605; Dennis Township, 7,058; Lower Township, 37,220; Middle Township, 25,928; UpperTownship, 29 479; West Cape May Borough, report; County Total, $476,531.

Rescue Squad Fund Drive

Mr. Robert Whitelaw, President, announced on Jan. 15th that to date over $8,800.00 had been received by the Avalon Rescue Squad & contributions were still coming in. This generous response was the result of an appeal by mail to 3400 Avalon property owners. He extended the Squad’s gratitude to all donors who have helped to make this worthy Community Service possible. Radio equipment has been ordered extending the present

linkage of the ambulances with the police department to indude local hospitals. Paging equipment connecting the police dispatcher with on-duty personnel will be delivered shortly. The Rescue Squad becomes operative when the paging units arrive and are keyed to the Police Dispatch system, hopefully this month. Supplies for patient handling & treatment in emergencies are adequate & additional supplies are on order. The Rescue Squad could use more personnel. Anyone interested in helping this essential community service please call Chief Andrew Sciranka at 967-7435. NURSES ASSOC. MEETS Constituency Number 9 of the New Jersey State Nurse’s Association will hold its business meeting January 23rd at 7:30 P.M. The meeting will be held at the Atlantic Community College in the Nursing Education Building. A discussion on "Resolving Conflicts of Multidisciplinary Care Planning” led by Jean Zuritis will follow. All area nurses are invited to attend. Recognition points are available to those who attend.