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They're baaack.
Grackles have once again invaded Mexico's downtown square, roosting in trees and leaving behind piles of unsightly matter.
But this year, the natives are armed and ready.
What may have sounded like a Fourth of July fireworks display Monday and Tuesday nights was the county's latest attempt to rid the area – especially the Audrain County Courthouse lawn – of the unwanted feathered fowl.
County Commissioner Tom Groves said the birds are arriving a little early this year. They normally fly in around the first of September – in droves. Using noisemakers, he said, is a "tried and true" method – introduced a few years ago by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources – that disrupts the birds' nesting habits, and subsequently sends them elsewhere.
"You have to start (shooting) about an hour before sunset, and do it for three nights in a row, to be effective," Groves said. The goal is to frustrate them into leaving.
The team of volunteers shooting Bird Bangers and Screamer Sirens fireworks will be positioned one more night on the east and west sides of the courthouse, discharging an array of missiles, screamers and bombers, starting around 7 p.m. Anyone walking in the area should beware of the droppings.
Groves hopes the three-day process will be enough to last through the fall season, because this year's flock seems larger than usual.
A few years ago, he said, county officials had to discontinue a downtown festival due to the birds and their droppings. And last week they had to clean the sidewalks multiple times, due to the "nasty" waste.
Grackles (quiscalus quiscula) are migratory type birds, black/dark purple in color, that like to crowd together. As night falls, many can be seen descending upon the courthouse, squawking and chattering almost as loud as the fireworks being used against them.
They nest and breed in the spring, and in the fall they form large colonies that can number in the thousands. The flocks will usually take over several trees for their evening roosting. In the winter, their feeding site may be quite far from their roosting spot, making trapping or baiting difficult.
The common grackle is omnivorous, eating insects, minnows, frogs, eggs, berries, seeds, and even small birds. In some areas, they are considered pests by farmers because of their large numbers and fondness for grain.
And as a few passersby learned Monday night, grackles not only have a dogged determination to return to their roosting spot, they also have an unlimited capacity to regroup.
Last year, volunteers shot off noisemakers the first time in July and the grackles left, only to return in August. They shot them off a second time, and the grackles left for the rest of the season. Groves is hopeful it will only take one time to get rid of the problem this year.
They're baaack.
Grackles have once again invaded Mexico's downtown square, roosting in trees and leaving behind piles of unsightly matter.
But this year, the natives are armed and ready.
What may have sounded like a Fourth of July fireworks display Monday and Tuesday nights was the county's latest attempt to rid the area – especially the Audrain County Courthouse lawn – of the unwanted feathered fowl.
County Commissioner Tom Groves said the birds are arriving a little early this year. They normally fly in around the first of September – in droves. Using noisemakers, he said, is a "tried and true" method – introduced a few years ago by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources – that disrupts the birds' nesting habits, and subsequently sends them elsewhere.
"You have to start (shooting) about an hour before sunset, and do it for three nights in a row, to be effective," Groves said. The goal is to frustrate them into leaving.
The team of volunteers shooting Bird Bangers and Screamer Sirens fireworks will be positioned one more night on the east and west sides of the courthouse, discharging an array of missiles, screamers and bombers, starting around 7 p.m. Anyone walking in the area should beware of the droppings.
Groves hopes the three-day process will be enough to last through the fall season, because this year's flock seems larger than usual.
A few years ago, he said, county officials had to discontinue a downtown festival due to the birds and their droppings. And last week they had to clean the sidewalks multiple times, due to the "nasty" waste.
Grackles (quiscalus quiscula) are migratory type birds, black/dark purple in color, that like to crowd together. As night falls, many can be seen descending upon the courthouse, squawking and chattering almost as loud as the fireworks being used against them.
They nest and breed in the spring, and in the fall they form large colonies that can number in the thousands. The flocks will usually take over several trees for their evening roosting. In the winter, their feeding site may be quite far from their roosting spot, making trapping or baiting difficult.
The common grackle is omnivorous, eating insects, minnows, frogs, eggs, berries, seeds, and even small birds. In some areas, they are considered pests by farmers because of their large numbers and fondness for grain.
And as a few passersby learned Monday night, grackles not only have a dogged determination to return to their roosting spot, they also have an unlimited capacity to regroup.
Last year, volunteers shot off noisemakers the first time in July and the grackles left, only to return in August. They shot them off a second time, and the grackles left for the rest of the season. Groves is hopeful it will only take one time to get rid of the problem this year.
