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ODOT against starlings today on the Interstate Bridge. Starlings in the tens of thousands leave poop all over the bridge – and the motorists and pedestrians who use it. ODOT plans to fire loud cannons and bang on the bridge with hammers in order the scare the birds away (They’ll do it at irregular intervals to throw the birds off). It kind of sounds like a good job for a bunch of 12-year-old boys.

Starling poop . It creates a public health hazard. It . It’s “unhealthy, unsafe and unsightly,” as .

The question I asked myself was this: We know starling poop is gross and bacteria-laden, but could it also be dangerous?

Back in 2007 when the Minneapolis bridge collapsed, many speculated that acidity in pigeon dung and made repairing it difficult. Birds’ poop is acidic because they don’t pee. Instead, bird urine comes out in their droppings as uric acid, the stuff that makes them white.

So I did some Google research and found starling poop is , just like pigeon poop. I guess since starlings are smaller, the damage should be less severe than what pigeons cause. But then again, I don’t see flocks of pigeons of the same number I see of starlings. I would like more answers, but it’s hard to find an expert on bird poop.

*Number of times I use the word “poop” in this post: 7 (not counting the headline)