Starlings

[Grimstod]

So was reading on BBC that Starlings are a real problem here in the USA. Not surprising we have almost as many starlings as humans now with there pop estimated at over 250mil. Anyone here ever shoot them when they are on the ground pecking for worms? I was thinking of trying this in my back yard.

 

[5spd]

I was blasting them in the 70-80s out in CA. They were so thick the sky would disappear standing under them.
I ran thousands of 12 & 20 ga shells into them eons back, BOOM...BOOM....a hole would open and a bucket load would hit the ground and close as they flew in circles over the fields on farms.
I remember being pummeled by them dropping on me also.

 

[Rick in Oregon]

The starlings around here seem to favor my backyard bird feeder.....bad move on their part, as there's a scoped Beeman R-10 .20 cal sitting at the slider that has accounted for a few hundred over the years. All other birds are welcome.

But the "real" starling attraction to us is a local feed lot that has an estimated TWO MILLION of the buggers hanging about, eating and crapping all over the cattle and their feed. When they swarm, it's like a black cloud that darkens the sky, so the owner gladly invites us up on a regular basis with our shotguns to have our way with them. We take a case of shells each for a morning of wicked wingshooting fun and bloodshot shoulders.

 

[thekriebles]

I enjoy picking them off with my RWS air rifle in our backyard and around our feeders. They are invasive and chase the preferred songbirds that my wife enjoys seeing. I've only placed a small dent in their numbers here, since there are so many.

 

[csandfort]

I've been shooting "at" Starlings for too long. A brand new shiny FX airgun showed up on my doorstep this afternoon and so far it has been deadly on the ground squirrels at the perimeter of my lawn. I will now get my revenge on those pesky Starlings!

 

[timeout]

Ah, yes, the starlings. I am at war with them and English sparrows. I even erected a house for them that looks inviting. We have Bluebirds, Cardinals, Baltimore Orioles, Indigo Buntings, finches, etc. that eat and nest in the back yard. The sparrows and starlings are trouble. I don't have an air rifle, but do have a trusty Remington 541T topped with a Burris 6X fine crosshair/dot HBR scope. It seldom misses. My day is incomplete when I have not taken a starling or English sparrow. It is amazing how spooky they have become. They don't set in one spot very long. Excellent practice to keep your hunting skills sharp.

 

[thekriebles]

Ah, yes, the starlings. I am at war with them and English sparrows...The sparrows and starlings are trouble...Excellent practice to keep your hunting skills sharp.

You're right timeout. It does help to keep your hunting and shooting skills sharp. I whack the House Sparrows as well. They have become a very invasive species to many areas. The smaller sparrow targets are more challenging and rewarding too!

 

[Grimstod]

Anyone try turning them into a cloud of feathers with something in 30ca?

 

[pacificman]

I used to have a chocolate lab that was an awesome bird dog. In the off season I would shoot starlings off the telephone wires so he could fetch them. He loved to fetch them but did not like keeping them in his mouth for very long. : I have a very nice Airarms PCP pellet rifle that is a joy to shoot. I lost my Lab a couple of years ago so now I have to do the fetching. It sure isn't the same without him. The thing about Starlings is it seems that the more you shoot the more there are. :

 

[Dave T]

Oh yea the starlings, I don't usually shoot birds of any kind but I will shoot the starling. They are everywhere here and right now they have their youngin's out showing them how to be a pain in the ars. They get into everything and just crap everywhere, which is why I shoot them with my trusty Daisy pellet rifle.
Dave T

 

[snert]

a 50 grain Vmax from a 222 leaves just feet and goo on the spot they stood... :'(

 

[ED3]

Shoot every last one you can.

It's been 40 years since seeing a Red Headed Woodpecker around my home due to the starlings.
Both being cavity nesters, the starlings have all but driven the red heads to extinction in most areas.

Ironically, it was starlings that got me interested in precision shooting:

20+ years ago I put up some wood duck houses in my yard. Of the four boxes, the starlings immediately nested in 3 and drove the duck out of the fourth.
I contacted a friend and he referred me to an acquaintance- Dick Peterson, the bluebird house designer.
I still can hear the words: " Ya gotta get an air rifle- a good German one" I did some research and got a Beemann HW 77 with a 1.5 - 5 x 40 scope.
Two things that worked well; one you need to be a bit ruthless- baiting them with fritos, potato chips, etc, and if you're willing, either capture, or wound a young one, and it will bring in adults by the dozens, so focused on the distressed youngster, they don't notice the bird next to them falling off the phone line. The first year I took out 200+, and nearly that number the second year. Interestingly, after that they disappeared from my property- to this day I have no starlings.
I had a nice run of 15 years or so with the woodies until oak wilt came along.
But the air gun, and many many more guns are still with me.

 

[mr45man]

Used to shoot them off the stable roof.
The ridge was perfectly lined up from my kitchen window.
And one shot from my 22-250 would get about 20 to 30
of them.
John H.

 

[yenak]

22 Hornet/ 35 Vmax POOF

 

[alf]

 

[timeout]

Nice rig Alf, but did you poison starling? I can't see a hole ;D

 

[mshelton]

There was a pretty cool thing on Starlings in one of the shotgunning forums about a year back.

A guy had a 10ga with as healthy a dose of #9s as he could pack in there and went out to see how many he could drop in one shot. If I recall correctly, his best swarm/flock/gaggle shot was around 100.

 

[lpreddick]

histoplasmosis is a pulmonary disease that can present as a flu-like illness that will run it's course like a common cold. where i grew up in south carolina everybody got this disease and we have evidence on out chest xrays. the fungus causing this disease was traced to the millions of starlings nesting site. they are not native to the US and were brought here from england. near sunset in middle tenn the line of starlings going to their nesting site can last for over an hour. they do eat insects and i don't believe they destroy crops, but they rank right up there as a pest.

 

[ED3]

histoplasmosis is a pulmonary disease that can present as a flu-like illness that will run it's course like a common cold. where i grew up in south carolina everybody got this disease and we have evidence on out chest xrays. the fungus causing this disease was traced to the millions of starlings nesting site. they are not native to the US and were brought here from england. near sunset in middle tenn the line of starlings going to their nesting site can last for over an hour. they do eat insects and i don't believe they destroy crops, but they rank right up there as a pest.

In Europe, vintners hire shotgunners, falconers, and even small aircraft to chase starlings out of the vineyards.

 

[snert]

This inspired me to break out the air gun and tripod, lawn chair, and I got some quality time in with my son dispatching starlings and pigeons. I will post photos when I figure out how. Love the PCP airgun. A headshot starling peaking over the roof line is as much fun as a 500 yard woodchuck!

snert