The enemy.
That's because there's one minor problem here, which you've already guessed: I'm not in Europe.
Starlings are an invasive species in North America and a destructive one at that. They're even specifically excluded from the Migratory Bird Treaty Act for that reason. So, much to the consternation of aviphiles everywhere, these are generally shoot-on-sight on my property.
This one wasn't on my property, though, so I took at shot at him with my camera instead. I think it's a him. It's kind of hard to tell with starlings, but he was screeching at the top of his little lungs at the top of that pole which is typically male bird behavior. He stopped when he saw me.
At the moment the starlings and I have an uneasy truce. I think I've either blown away or scared off all of the ones that were hereditary nesters in my eaves and soffits. I care because they push out native birds, but also because they insist on trying to rip my soffit cladding off and otherwise destroy bits of my house in the course of their activities. So the ones that keep their grubby beaks off of my stuff get left alone for now.
Canon R10, f/8, 1/1600 sec, ISO-1600, at the full 400mm. This is about as far out as I can reach and get any acceptable detail on a songbird sized object with my current lens, at least notwithstanding a focal length extender or something. Or spending a lot more on glass, which I can't afford at the moment.
