Starlings invade the North Coast

[Donna]

The clouds begin forming just before dusk. They rise from marshes and vineyard valleys, forming funnels or spoons, then arrows. The clouds whoosh and transform into hundreds or thousands of birds, white spots giving shimmer to their bland winter coats.
External Links:

Starlings and their huge flocks are North American invaders, swelling into the millions — about 200 million by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's count. Their sheer numbers have stopped traffic, downed power lines and driven grape growers nearly mad.

The push-pull of awe and annoyance that these birds inspire has descended on Sonoma County as more starlings make their way from the north and the east, adding to the flocks that stay here year round.

“I grew up on Sonoma Mountain Road and I loved just hanging out and watching those guys swarm around above the vineyards,� said Colby Eierman, who directs sustainabilty programs for Benzinger Family Winery. “Now it's kind of hard, knowing the trouble they cause.�

The Benzinger Family Winery puts up bird houses with bluebird-sized holes to help the struggling native bird compete with starlings' aggressive invasion.

Starlings eat grapes. They chase away native birds that would keep insects and other pests in check. They multiply into Hitchcockian flocks.

As the vines go dormant, starlings feast on fallen-grape leftovers.

“They're a little bit of a cleanup crew, maybe there's something positive there,� Eierman said.

Farmers facing overwhelming numbers of the birds have tried to scare them away with cannons, catch them in nets or freeze them with cold water in winter.

All the same, their acrobatic shape-making against a winter sky stops people in their tracks and sends videos viral online.

“It can be a thousand birds in a flock, but they look like they're acting as one organism,� said Ellen Blustein, a self-proclaimed citizen scientist who organizes field trips for the Redwood Region Ornithological Society. “It's really something to behold.�

Years back, a soaring Möbius strip of birds rose alongside Highway 101, Blustein remembers. They funneled in an infinite loop and caused some drivers to pull over and get out of their cars.

“People were literally stopping on the shoulder and getting out to watch,� Blustein said.

Starlings once drove Shakespearian enthusiasts to hatch a nutty plan that would seal the birds' North American fate. The bird's gift for mimicry is referenced in King Henry IV, and a New York group decided in 1890 or 1891 to bring all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's texts to the New World.

They released about 120 starlings in Central Park, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report. Lore has it their first American nest was on the American Museum of Natural History's roof.

[Caitie]

Just last week here in NJ I watched as about 1000 or more starlings flew overhead.. they just kept coming and coming in dark clouds of birds over the buildings. It was something.

[Donna]

Just last week here in NJ I watched as about 1000 or more starlings flew overhead.. they just kept coming and coming in dark clouds of birds over the buildings. It was something.

I saw a couple clouds of them on Friday while filling my feeder...first for me seeing the formations moving all in 1 direction. Totally amazing sight. It's like a Herring ball..

[Bird Crazy]

Around here they flock with other birds, we have mixed flocks of starlings, red winged blackbirds and grackles oh and unfortunately cowbirds.

[MAK]

     When I lived in the country in Hamlin,N.Y.,( west of Rochester )every spring and fall my backyard would be transformed into a black carpet consisting of all four of those bird groups. It was a sight to behold!