Friendly Circles

pierre Belizaire and Christian Vaream

Pierre's Brief:

Friendly Circles: a series of habitats built to house a flock of Starlings and to protect them from predators.

Starlings are lowland invasive birds; they nest or take over other birds nests, dryer vents, rooftops of buildings or light posts.  The female Starlings usually lay and incubate four eggs. Along with being invasive, Starlings are often considered the noisiest and social birds, especially during dusk and dawn. The birds tend to soil cars and buildings surrounding the areas of their habitat.  

Starlings cohabitate with humans in cities and towns, and in agricultural areas where there is plenty of food(fruits, seeds, and bugs) and water. Starlings flock together in the sky creating murmurations to protect themselves from predators like the Peregrine Falcons. Predators find it difficult to target one bird in the middle of thousands of hypnotizing Starlings. 

Christian's Brief:

The project is an innovative and new type of nest specifically made to be appealing to the Starling. Large amounts of these birds can be found in urban areas which are mainly where these birds reside. Friendly Circles is a project that was created because of the overwhelming presence of the European Starlings. The Starlings are very aggressive and can be found killing other birds and taking over their nests by force. Starlings nest inside of trees or in the gaps of buildings which was part of the inspiration for Friendly Circles. Starlings are attracted to circular and tubular shapes which played a very large role in how the project was going to look. The project is one installation made up of multiple circular crevasses made for nesting. The nest can be installed anywhere and in any climate. For example in the city on a brick wall or on a tree in the woods. Friendly Circles offers a new type of nesting experience not only for Starlings but for all birds to use and enjoy.