Like A Scene Out Of A Hitchcock Film

Lately, my back yard has looked like a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's horror classic "The Birds".

(I know...I know... The quality of these photos is very poor, but it�s the best I can do with my camera. Also, the amount of birds you see in these pictures is fairly small; there are moments when there are (eerily) many, many more.)

I believe that the birds in the photos above are starlings. Not my favourite birds. And certainly not the most welcome.

Well.

This somewhat eerie invasion started last week, and although we initially intended to chase them away, we�re now hoping that these birds continue to visit for awhile. And invite more friends and family members to join them.

�ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?�

No, not really. When these (typically) pesky birds arrived, they took absolutely no interest in the bird feeders. Instead, they pecked away at the lawn like mad. Curious as to what they were feasting on, my husband watched with binoculars. And you know what he saw them pulling up from the ground? Grubs! Yes, grubs. Rotten, miserable, nerve-shattering, lawn-obliterating, plant-destroying, slimy, evil-beyond-your-imagination grubs. Ugh, how I hate those things.

So.

Now that we�ve discovered that the starlings are grub-eating birds, and that they gather in huge numbers to gorge themselves with these slimy things, we have allowed them free access to the back yard. Temporarily, of course. The birds know that once the grubs are gone, they have to leave, or else we�ll declare war. Not that I expect starlings to respect this verbal agreement. You know how they can be.

In the meantime, I hope the starlings manage to bring down the number of grubs hiding under the lawn. Otherwise, we can pretty much kiss the grass goodbye.