Cameron's Commandos

[Bankie Boy]

Does any one else remember that during the early 70s Glasgow was over run with several millions of Starlings. The sight of them swarming prior to roosting was nothing less than spectacular. Unfortunately they were also mind boggling noisy and dispensed tons of shite on the buildings and the citizens of this fair city
A firm was called in to get rid of this menace and I think they were called Cameron's Commandos (Based in Bishopbriggs if I remember correctly, the guy made millions). Its a good job the health and safety mob and the animal rites loonies were not around at that time because if I remember correctly their methods of dispatching these poor creatures was less than would be acceptable today!

[Josef]

I'd have sworn we had a thread about this already, but I can't find it now.

Used to be one of the highlights of my day, watching them swoop and swirl in clouds over Central Station bridge at dusk. Especially when you were stuck there for ten minutes waiting for a platform.

Schiehallion posted a link to a video of a murmuration of starlings, but it doesn't seem to work any more.

[viceroy]

Edwin Morgan wrote quite a well-known poem about the removal of these starlings, called, appropriately enough, The Starlings in George Square. It's in From Saturn to Glasgow, a collection of 50 favourite poems written by him.
In it he refers to:

Scarecrow Strip for the window-ledge landings,
Cameron's Repellent on the overhead wires.

[Johnny_Gogo]

Them wee starlings made a helluva noise when roosting each night and it is ironic that it was noise that scared them away. I'm sure that was the tool Cameron's Commandos use to shift them off the window ledges and roofs, some kind of klaxon thing or something. Once they went all that fine netting was laced over perching spots to deter their return.

Memory tells me the Evening Times got plenty of headlines out of it so their archive will have all the info.

[retired tiger]

If I remember correctly his squad used old Bedford vans painted up to look like camouflage.

(I'm sure somebody will be along to point out they'd never be seen )

[Alycidon]

I Know where the Starlings went, little swine have adopted Eaglesham, where the perch on the telephone wires in substantial numbers and shite on my car below, what is the number of that company??

[Doorstop]

Starlings aren't just for all year - they're for Christmas too y'know.