The summer solstice had barely passed, and we were within the first week of July when I saw them. It was July 7th this year, to be exact. The first day I noticed what I take to be a sign of Autumn: multiple family groups of European Starlings, or a “murmur” as a flock of starlings is called. It was way too early for me to think about fall. But here they were in early July, in the hundreds blanketing the neighborhood. As the name, European Starling suggests, they’re not native to the US, but they are certainly here. I wish they would pack up and just go.
New York, New York, if they can make it there …
There is debate about whether their introduction was inspired by a desire to ensure every bird mentioned in Shakespeare's works was released in the United States. But for sure, eccentric New York pharmacist Eugene Schieffelin, was involved at some level. Part of the American Acclimatization Society, a group of wealthy New Yorkers who sought to trade and introduce European flora and fauna, he released 100 starlings into Central Park in 1890. Unfortunately, releasing new species onto the landscape that were deemed “useful or interesting,” or that just reminded them of the homeland, was a common practice at the time. There wasn’t a full understanding of the impact they might have.
Read the complete column here: You've Probably Seen this Noisy Invasive Bird
Resources
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/European-Starlings-WDM-Technical-Series.pdf
https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-1533.07
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Acclimatization_Society
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/100_of_the_World%27s_Worst_Invasive_Alien_Species
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