Birds. EVERYWHERE. That's what I experience on my walk home from school on Tuesdays at 5 PM. The first time these birds showed up, which was about 2 weeks ago, I seriously thought Rome was about to experience an attack of birds. No one else seemed to be freaking out as much as I was but instead were calmly walking along with umbrellas; it wasn't raining. Yes, that's right, they have umbrellas to keep from getting hit from the massive amount of bird poop that inevitably gets everywhere...the sidewalk, cars, and some unlucky walkers. I was one of the unlucky ones that first day. Although I quickly got out my rain jacket and put it on as soon as I realized what was happening, I looked down and saw the unfortunate spot on my boot. Luckily they were my very cheap ones, so I was happy that it wasn't worse.
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| Starlings Over the Tiber at dusk |
These birds are called Starlings. There are literally millions that follow the Tiber river up to Rome every evening right around 5 PM after feeding in the countryside. Watching these birds from safe inside a bus or building makes me appreciate the congregation of birds flying together in what looks like, as my mother described it, a lava lamp. But, it's a completely different story when I'm walking to and from class trying to dodge the bird poop. Starlings are a major problem for Rome because they threaten the preservation of monuments as well as making roads slippery and dangerous when their droppings mix with the rain. Even more dangerous events are possible, like a plane that was forced into emergency landing when a group of starlings got sucked into the jet engines earlier this month. Romans are trying to combat the prevalence of these birds by imitating a starling distress call to scare away the birds, which is helping but not making a significant impact. It is, however, costing a great deal to the city, 125,000 Euros per year to be exact. While the number seems to be down from the highest possibility of five million, it doesn't seem like the starlings will be going anywhere anytime soon. Our best hope is to avoid walking near the river when possible and always having an umbrella handy. Now, that was something I didn't expect to be dealing with on my study abroad experience!
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| Unfortunate results of the Starlings. This is completely standard to see on a daily basis. |
Here is a great video showing the birds!
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