Watch Thousands of Grackles Take Over a Grocery Store Parking Lot in Houston

Folks, what you’re about to see isn’t a modern reimagining of an Alfred Hitchcock film. It’s just Texas, well… being Texas.

An incredible video of thousands—and we mean thousands—of grackles descending upon a grocery store parking lot in Houston is making the rounds on social media this week, and it’s easy to see why.

The clip (below), captured by KHOU 11 reporter Brett Buffington, shows a flock of Texas’ unofficial state bird doing what they do best: perching on cars and generally causing a scene. Buffington joked that it was a cool sight until one of them made a mess on his newly washed news van.

And they’re noisy too. Grackles have a wide repertory of songs and sounds including piercing whistles and creaks. Not surprisingly, large groups of them can create quite a ruckus.

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Swarms of these shimmery black birds are not uncommon in Texas’ urban areas. In Austin, they even have three stars on Yelp. According to Houston Audubon, grackles can be found in any area inhabited by humans that has some trees. “They tend to congregate in large flocks and prefer shopping centers and fast-food store parking lots where there's trash for food and trees or light posts for perching.”

So, if you live in the Houston area, you might want to hold off on washing your car for the next few days.