As winter turned to spring, the types of birds at my feeder began to change. The dark-eyed juncos and pine siskins returned to their homes for the breeding season, and brown thrashers and robins came in to take their place. Around the same time, though, a flock of starlings that live in the neighborhood also discovered the feeders.

They are pretty birds, but very hungry. They come in droves and eat everything in sight. Their long bills are not good for most seeds, so they tend to open them like a pair of chopsticks and sift through looking for unshelled sunflower seeds they can eat. It would be fine if they were careful, but they throw everything they don’t like out of the feeder and onto the ground. The squirrels and doves love this, but not me.

Yesterday my youngest child watched them at work and asked what they were and why I didn’t like them as much. I tried to think of a way to explain it so he’d understand.

“Well, you know how when you get a bowl of Chex mix you only like to eat the Chex?” I said.

“Sure. They’re the good part.”

“It’s kind of like that. The starlings like the sunflower seeds so they look for those. But you pick through the Chex mix and leave the pretzels and rye chips for your sister or me to eat. The starlings don’t care and just throw everything they don’t like on the floor”.

His eyes got big and a light bulb I didn’t mean to go off did.

“That’s a great idea. I could throw all that junk on the floor and just eat the Chex.”

I am now constantly on guard at snack time, and I like the starlings a little less than before.