These bastards showed up today.  This is maybe 10% of the group that descended on the compound.  They seem to have keen vision and are risk-averse.  Minor movement in the house was enough to get them to move along.  I didn’t even have time to let Sparky out to hector them.  Which is fine, Sparky was not eager to engage.

I don’t mind them.  My only complaint is that the phenomena is called a ‘murmuration’.  This is a murmuration of European starlings.  I don’t know who comes up with collective nouns, but I suspect it’s theater kids on Reddit.  I’ll call it a flock.

A couple of weeks ago, I was sitting outside with friends when a flock of starlings landed in the oak trees, and started dropping acorns.  I doubt it was intentional.  The acorns were probably ready to drop, and the bird disturbance shook the acorns loose.

They landed near us, and it rained acorns.  Then they moved a yard away, and it rained there.  They moved once more.  It seemed intentional, but the weather had probably been mild with little wind around the time the acorns matured.