Place Claude-Arnoult, Thursday April 8. The day is falling; a cloud of small black birds swarms over the lime trees with an impressive rustling of wings. They are starlings, probably the last of the season to play overtime in our latitudes. Traditionally, settlements are established in our cities at the start of autumn and until spring. Six months of the year during which they operate considerable damage because of their acid droppings. Street furniture, paving stones, car bodies, facades… Nothing is spared.
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For six months, the officials abused the high-pressure jet and elbow grease. At the same time, it is in the hygiene and perils department that the strategy to fight against unwanted people is working.
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Scare away the starlings
The eternal problem with starlings remains their excess, which prevents any capture project. The only solution: fear. An everyday job, because after being dislodged from one place, these birds take up residence in another. And so on until the end of their winter vacation.
For a time, the City called on a falconer. The technique gives results, but its high cost and the limited availability of professionals are brakes. This year, the municipality has therefore invested in a sound scarer, a sort of autonomous speaker, equipped with different predator cries, and whose volume can be adjusted and programs varied. Two hours of proper shouting is enough to take effect. In the same vein, the hygiene service has been equipped with a laser torch that is directed towards the colonies to blind them and make them clear.
This winter, the presence of starlings posed serious problems on Boulevard Charlemagne, on the outskirts of Puzzle (a classic) and in the courtyard of Poincaré kindergarten, where the large cedar tree served as their dormitory.
In a few days, the yard and the games, lined with droppings, became impractical and even dangerous from a bacteriological point of view. Even daily cleaning was no longer enough. Frightening imposed itself; with success.
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Haro on pigeons
Another pet peeve of the city centers, the pigeons that some continue to feed, when they should not. If it is excluded to harm wood pigeons (those with white collars), the others are the subject of regular captures throughout the year. It is a way of regulating populations and maintaining public health. The Moselle trappers association is responsible for the manipulation. In 2019, nearly 800 birds were thus eliminated.
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Bulky corvids
With their powerful cries and their imposing size, rook crows have carved out a hateful reputation for themselves. Lately, they have taken up residence en masse on the quays of Moselle, forcing the opening of a capture campaign. Pruning remains a deterrent solution. Thionville and the neighboring municipalities could consider a concerted timetable on the subject. History of solving the problem more effectively.
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