D*** STARLINGS!

[bozo_casanova]

So my wife said that purple martins had taken up residence in our empty owl house. I went out to check, and it wasn't Purple martins, but rather a nest of Starlings*. I hate to harass a birds nest, but this is an invasive non-native species that aggressively competes with native hole nesters like martins.

Any thoughts on humane removal?





*Introduced to North America by 19th Century *******, Eugene Schieffelin.

 

[txboy_in_az]

I have to ask. If they're such a pest and they're a problem for other birds that you would prefer to have nesting there, why are we looking for a humane way of getting rid of them? Sounds like a nice Saturday afternoon of Red Rider target practice to me.

 

[LITNIN HORN]

I guess, once you've ridded us of the vagrant starlings, you'll ship all of the horses back to Spain.

 

[PFD]

In reply to:

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[LITNIN HORN]

I have my priorities straight...anybody who wants to plug a few piggies can bring the goods to my freezer. My point is, most of our common mammals and a great deal of our fowl and plant life are invasive and non-native. As a matter of fact we should start packing our bags.

 

[accuratehorn]

People who have purple martin houses have to clear out the early nesters, if they are starlings or house sparrows, or the martins will not be able to move in.
It might be mean in a way, but these are nuisance invasive non-native species, and they take over the habitat and squeeze out the purple martins.
This is why many purple martin house have a rope and pulley system to lower the house-so you can keep it cleaned out until the martins get established in there.

 

[kbrown]

The Grackles can't be to far behind

 

[Mrmyke709]

Grackles are not cavity nesting. Starlings are.
I say kill all the ******* starlings and Eurotrash brown sparrows.
I was sitting in the passenger compartment of the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge train, and remarked to my wife about all the damn starlings in Durango. I told her about the ******* who brought them over and how they spread. As I finished telling her, the guy in the seat in front of us handed me a section of the Denver Post, the front page story that day was about the starling infestation in the High Rockies.
Talk about coincidence. It was spooky.

 

[Mrmyke709]

On a related note, Bozo, have you ever had screech owls successfully nesting in your owl box?
I have one, and I can hear the little guys all over my lot, but I didn't want to put up with the damn starlings.

 

[Seamus McBundy]

There is only one solution to this problem. Take em out with a pellet gun.

 

[HornGrandioso]

This is funny. My grandfather had all kinds of martin houses and hated starlings with the intensity of a thousand suns. He would take his 20 gauge and terminate them with extreme prejudice.

 

[flaco]

They are not bad if you wrap them in bacon.

 

[CaptainEd]

1. humane schmumane. pellet gun time. add in a six pack of good beer and that is a fun evening.

2. do they make for good pho?

 

[bozo_casanova]

Myke,

In reply to:

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[accuratehorn]

Didn't Rick Perry advocate this solution when he opined, "Adios vole pho!"

 

[Mrmyke709]

No bird thread is complete without an accuratehorn pun.

In a nice coincidence, I got a pic of this guy Saturday night. I was helping a friend with some yard work when this little guy showed up I was able to walk right up to him when he was on the lower branches.
He was only about 14 inches tall. Cute lil" feller.

 

[MilkmanDan]

For some reason I keep interpreting the censored subject as "DICK STARLINGS!"

 

[Mrmyke709]

 

[jmatt]

You think starlings are bad? We have swallows trying to build nests (in case you don't know, they're made of mud, like giant mud dauber nests) on our front porch.

If they would do it under the eaves somewhere else, I wouldn't care, but we elft them alone one year and swallow nests on your front porch is not a good thing. They're messy, and will attack anything (cats, dogs, etc) or anyone that comes up to the front door once there are chicks in the nest.

 

[Mrmyke709]

We have swallows on our porch. I just hose down the poop every morning. They eat lots of bugs, so I'm cool with them.

 

[jmatt]

Yeah but our front porch/entry is rather small, and there's nothing like being dive-bombed by a bird every damn time you walk out the front door. Or walk near the front porch. Or go out in the front yard. Or wash your car. Or let the cat in or out (I must admit that it is funny to watch the cat take off like a shot with this cool-looking little bird chasing after it....).

I guess one good thing is it keeps the door-to-door salesmen and Jehovah's Witness whackos away...

And they do eat a lot of bugs...

 

[accuratehorn]

mrmyke's owl should be an Eastern Screech-owl, but they are 8.5" tall, not 14" and they weigh 6 ounces. They are very common around here, and you can put up an owl house for them if you have them around your property. I think places like Birds Unlimited have the owl boxes.
It might take a couple of years for them to move in, but they do use them.
The barn swallows that build the mud nests are messy, but if you can tolerate them, they are beneficial, and the young will be raised within a few weeks and they will leave. Then you can take the mud cup down. They are a native species unlike the starlings and house sparrows that are such nuisances.

 

[Mrmyke709]

I've got screech owls out the ***. Our lot is heavily wooded next to the house.
The trilling call is very comforting to me late at night if I'm having trouble sleeping.
Trill.