Starling attack

Ah, starlings. The cuckoo of the city. The myna of metropolitan areas. Residents of the Bridgeport neighborhood are tired of the autumn flocks of starlings. As much as I admire the Bridgeporters' "Roman candles" approach, this could be a job for the starling whisperer of Decatur.

Hello larid

A flock of ring-billed gulls has become a regular presence in the outfield at Cleveland Indians' games at Progressive Field. It's been a little strange, but it wasn't a big deal until a gull factored into the Tribe's win on Thursday. A base hit to center deflected off a gull and past the Royals' center fielder. The hit came with a runner on second in a tie game and scored the winning run in the ninth. The Indians are now looking at ways to chase off the larids. Here in Chicago, we used border collies for a while at some of the beaches. It didn't last. Maybe the Indians call in the mysterious Starling Whisperer of Decatur.