Village left covered in poo after invasion of tens of thousands of birds

14 March 2024 , 15:55

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Drew Hammond's car covered in droppings from the starlings (Image: Drew Hammond/SWNS)

A village is being constantly drenched in bird droppings after it was invaded by a flock of tens of thousands of starlings - in scenes compared to "The Birds".

Residents have been left in a flap over the 'downpours' of bird poo splattering their area after the starlings began to appear in the skies over Great Gonerby, Lincolnshire. At first, locals were left wowed by stunning sunset displays of clouds of birds swirling overhead - but said it quickly turned into a "nightmare".

Since the birds began to flock to the village three weeks ago, they have left behind a mountain of mess, leaving entire cars and homes covered in droppings. Fed-up villagers have been forced to wash their vehicles and windows daily while others are only leaving home with umbrellas for protection from the 'bombardment'.

Drew Hammond, 31 lives in Great Gonerby, Lincolnshire (James Linsell Clark/SWNS)

Dad-of-two Drew Hammond, 31, a drainage engineer, who lives with partner Katie Kennett, 32, said: "It was amazing to see at first but the aftermath is terrible. Our car got completely peppered in it. I've watched neighbours wash their car every day. I have a terrapin in my back garden too, his pond is littered with poo. The kids play equipment we've had to cover so they don't gets plastered as well.

"My daughters blind so when she's not using her cane she uses the hand rails but we've had to tell her not to touch things. Going down the step she uses the railings but all the railings are peppered with poo. She's an independent little girl and she won't let us help her. It was nice at the beginning - but not anymore. It is the first year they have been here since we moved in six years ago and it is a nuisance."

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The huge swarm often turns the sky black at dawn and dusk as they prepare to feed or roost for the night. Another local Terry Hill, 67, a grandad-of-one, compared the bombardment to scenes from Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 horror film The Birds.

Thousands of Starlings forming murmurations over Great Gonerby (James Linsell Clark/SWNS)

He added: "I suppose its nature and you have to accept it but I just could not believe the mess they are leaving. We are getting torrential downpours of droppings. I've seen people walking down the street with umbrellas on clear days and evenings so they don't get splatted with poo. It's been like something from The Birds."

Resident Andrew Comtois 44, added: "It was quite a spectacular sight at first but it soon turned into a nightmare. Some streets have been completely bombarded with almost like a carpet bombing of bird poo. They have been pooing on people's heads too. We were told they should move on after a couple of weeks but it has been around three weeks now and a lot of people are fed-up by the mess. My neighbours have been hit particularly badly - their cars and windows have been left totally covered in poo."

Rom Preston-Ellis