DRAPER, Utah — Maybe you've noticed their shapes in the sky or possibly heard their mimicking song — or maybe you're like Brooklyn Blackett and have heard and seen them poop on your car.
"When they were all flying over my car, I could hear little droppings over my car and I was like, 'Oh, need to go to the car wash now,'" Blackett said.
But do you know the name of the Shakespearean birds that dance in murmuration? If you guessed European starlings, you're correct.
"European starlings are particularly great at moving in the air," said Anne Terry, the director of education at Tracy Aviary. "They're aware of at least the seven closest birds around them at all times, which is why they're able to do all of this without colliding in the middle."
Terry says starlings flock in large numbers to find food and for safety. They alternate between being the outer bird.
When Blackett first saw the murmuration, she felt like she was in a horror movie — but now it's started to grow on her.
"It's actually really cool to watch them. It's different; you don't see it often," she said.
There are about 250 million starlings in the United States, and although it might seem like we're seeing them more frequently, their populations in Utah have stayed stable. Starlings can be found in agriculture fields, wet meadow areas, or even the desert, but they also enjoy the city life.
"They will eat seeds, they will eat human food, they're very adaptable which is why they've been so successful spreading across North America," Terry said.
Terry says starlings get a bad rap for being an invasive species, but she likes to call them "a displaced relative."
"They do have an impact on agriculture, so sometimes if they descend upon a field, they might eat a bunch of seeds before they get started, but on the flip side of that because they love insects, they'll also eat insect pests," Terry said.
Ahead of the starlings going into mating season, Blackett is taking advantage of their peak murmurations.
