Migration time! Between A. Hitchcock and Stephen King Starlings got a bad rap! LOL If those power lines had been buried you wouldn't have had the opportunity to see the eerie, beautiful sight. Enjoy they'll be gone soon.

LIL

I had about 100 starlings in my yard yesterday. They didn't stray into the neighbors yard, so they must have liked mine best!

I see them on wires here every autumn when they're migrating.

There're a zillion of them out there right now.

I love nature, including all the birds but have to admit that would get my attention!

Years ago we had a huge flock of birds that flew from field to field here, we have 3 very distinct fields to our property. They stayed for hours.

LOL

Make SURE your air vents in the eaves are covered with very strong wire. We had the same thing and they actually tore thru the wire, and were making nests in the attic.
We managed to get them out ( don't ask, it was ugly) and they still come around and sit on the wires staring at the house.

Kfca, Any time I see a gathering of blackbirds, I think of THAT movie. I think I was around sixth or seventh grade when it came out. My neighbor and I went without parents!

If I forget everything in my whole lifetime, I'm sure I will still have ingrained in my memory the fearful sight of those birds!

When I see birds lined up on the wires, it reminds me of sheet music.

{{!gwi}}

I always wonder if a pianist could play those notes, and what it would sound like.

Sue

Sue, I think it's been done---at least in a TV commercial, probably on PBS.

Black & white, composer mournfully sitting at piano tinkling keys, obviously no inspiration, looks out window, sees black birds on telephone wire, lightbulb goes off, next he's playing a beautiful sonata or whatever with a big smile on his face. Fade out.

I thought I read somewhere they are going to re-make The Birds in 3D. I think I am permanently scarred (and scared) from that movie-but I would HAVE to see the new one.

In the fall, starlings clump together to form huge flocks. These flocks roost together at night, and during the day, they migrate south. Some flocks stay in the same area for awhile before moving on. They do not build nests at this time of the year, and will leave the northern tier of states for the winter. Birds hatched this summer may have a slightly different coloration and their tail feathers may be a bit shorter. It is common to see them parked on wires maintaining an equal spacing between each bird.

kfca37, I would love to see that commercial. Nice to know that someone somewhere had the same thought I have had, for many years.

Sue

Sue, I've seen it about four times on San Francisco's Public Broadcasting Channel 9, actually as recently as maybe a month ago.

I don't think it advertised a product---more like one of PBS's non-commercial commercials to raise "public self-esteem" or something.

Quite amazing that you had the same idea. Well, Great Minds....

This isn't the PBS ad, but something very special. You aren't the only one that has had that thought, too, Sue. I've always thought that birds looked like musical notes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Click here

we have a small vacant tree'd lot next door to us and it's "alive" with starlings...i'm talking 100+...every once i awhile they "flood" the yard...my kitty just came in... think they overwhelmed her, lol...

we had to refil he bird feeder 3x this weekend...course they're not the only visitors...we still have a robin or 2 then our flock of doves not to mention the smaller birds...

Dad wanted no truck nor trade with starlings!

Sneaky critters ... eat other birds' eggs, lay their eggs in their nests.

Not good citizens.

ole joyful

I'm glad I came back and checked this thread. I had no idea my INSPIRED THOUGHT had found and connected with other GREAT MINDS. {{!gwi}}

That was so interesting to see all the variations.

Thanks.

Sue

I do not like Starlings... not a bit.. They are meanspirited little hogs and can empty a feeder in less than 5 minutes. They chase the songbirds away and poop like no other bird... yuk... I usually run them off with my trusty .410.... We consider them to be varmints...

After reading all these educational posts about starlings, I'll add one true life experience that happened to my room mate in college. For the sake of identy hiding, I'll call him "John".

John lived at Rantoul, IL, the next town north of Champaign, IL but since room and board was reasonable at the university, he chose to stay in the Men's residence halls during the week. (Mind you, this was a long time ago when such costs were low.) Several times, he go home for the weekend.

It was during one of those home visits when he learned a lot about starlings. The starlings had flocked and were roosting at night in the trees at Rantoul. One tree in particular held thousands. The town fathers on this block were fed up with the starlings and had decided to super harass the birds one evening in trying to get them to move to the country side. As dusk settled, a ring of men with their shot guns stood around the tree. On signal, they were to fire up into the tree full of birds. John was curious to see how the barage would appear so stood under the tree looking up. On cue, the guns roared. Every bird took a crap as they hastened away. It rained feces! John took out his hankie, wiped his face and headed home for the shower. His mom would not let him into the house until he removed his clothes.