HOPEWELL, Va. (AP) - A large flock of pesky starlings is defying the state's efforts to keep the birds off the Benjamin Harrison Bridge near Hopewell.

The Virginia Department of Transportation has tried for several  years to rid the bridge of an estimated 3,000 to 5,000 European Starlings. The agency has used pyrotechnic noise devices, a scarecrow and even poison.

But the starlings won't leave.

VDOT officials say the birds' droppings have damaged the bridge that spans the James River. The droppings also can carry a lung disease called histoplasmosis.

Taya Garman with VDOT says poisoned bait laid out in February killed some starlings but the problem hasn't been resolved.

Garman says the agency will try poison again later this year.

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