You can see various videos of starlings, and people are feeding them and treating them like pets or other birds. Many people think they are simply cute birds without knowing anything about them. However, people need to educate themselves about starlings, as they are basically cockroaches with wings. They do NOT belong in the U.S., and are categorized as a nuisance to society, pests to the environment, and are a threat to native birds. As a result, they are one of the few birds not protected in the U.S. by laws, or even the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
Starlings are vicious birds that harass and scare native birds off from feeding sites. They are a major threat to the natural habitat of many birds, such as woodpeckers, martins, barnswallows, waxwings, flickers, jays, and song birds such as grosbeaks. Starlings will even attack nests, eggs, and young chicks of other species. (There are great examples of nasty starling attacks here on YouTube.) Starlings have voracious apetites, and not only crowd out other birds at feeders, but require bird watchers to put out food more frequently for native birds in effort to prevent food shortages caused by starlings.
Unfortunately, European starlings were brought over to the U.S. from Europe (and released to Central Park in NYC) back in the late 1800’s, and they have spread like the plague ever since. The situation is not the starling’s fault, but nonetheless, it does not change the fact that starlings must still be effectively dealt with.
There have been many attempts to eliminate the starling problem by traps, but most starlings are smart enough to avoid them, and if native birds get caught in the trap, then they must be released unharmed. As a result, traps are not effective at eliminating starling problems, and they are more likely to interfere with native birds. Others have tried to use sirens and other ridiculous noise contraptions to get rid of them, but such measures are anemic and pathetic, as starlings simply get used to the noise. Such noises are more likely to disturb your neighbors than they are the starlings. What little effect sirens or other noises will have on starlings will also be equally effective at scaring off native birds, and therefore, are highly ineffective at eliminating starling problems. Even if sirens and other noise contraptions were even remotely effective, the problem would only be swept under the rug, as the starlings simply move on to wreak havoc in another neighborhood. Some have tried to get rid of starlings by putting poison in bird food, but this should be avoided, as poison would kill off native birds as well, and really would not be a humane way to get rid of starlings.
Moreover, none of these solutions actually eliminate the threat of starlings anyway. What makes things even more challenging, are scenarios where people are putting out food out for native birds and squirrels. As if the situation could not be worse, starlings also have multiple clutches per year, and lay many eggs, allowing starlings to overrun food supply and peaceful birds, while starling population growth destabilizes the natural habitat.
I enjoy feeding and watching birds as much as the next person, but starlings must be dealt with head on. The only effective and humane way to rid starlings from neighborhoods is to shoot them. However, most people are uninformed and / or incapable of dealing with starlings.
I use a .22 cal. Condor, and a shroud to eliminate report. My rifle is scoped and zeroed for 60 yards, but I use a laser for quick target acquisition at shorter ranges. The Condor is highly accurate, efficient, extremely quiet (when used with a shroud), and it allows death to be instantaneous to prevent cruelty. It is such an effective setup, that you can quickly get rid of starlings without disturbing other birds from feeding and socializing. You can safely take out starlings without other birds knowing whats going on.
The starling in this video is the last one in a group of 5 that I took out while it was on one of my feeders, and it was killed instantly. As a result, I have already noticed an increase of visits by native birds, which will be maintained until (if / when) the next group of starlings show up in the neighborhood.
Starling numbers multiply much faster than most other birds, which is one of the reasons why there are so many of them across the U.S. The key to ridding your neighborhood of starlings is to kill as many as you can, and as quickly and efficiently as you can without disturbing native birds or your neighbors. Doing so will help mitigate having to kill more offspring later on. If you have a bunch of them, just keep killing them very efficiently without scaring them off, and before you know it, you will notice a major improvement to the natural bird habitat in your neighborhood.
Duration : 0:0:12
Behind the Green Curtain: Environmentalism vs. Property Rights
Behind the Green Curtain: Environmentalism vs. Property Rights
The late Helen Chenoweth discusses the economic impacts of the environmental movement on our land base. She also exposes how the Wetlands Act and the Endangered Species Act are being used to destroy private property rights. Filmed in September of 1993.
The late Helen Chenoweth discusses the economic impacts of the environmental movement on our land base. She also exposes how the Wetlands Act and the Endangered Species Act are being used to destroy private property rights. Filmed in September of 1993.
The late Helen Chenoweth discusses the economic impacts of the environmental movement on our land base. She also exposes how the Wetlands Act and the Endangered Species Act are being used to destroy private property rights. Filmed in September of 1993.
The late Helen Chenoweth discusses the economic impacts of the environmental movement on our land base. She also exposes how the Wetlands Act and the Endangered Species Act are being used to destroy private property rights. Filmed in September of 1993.
The late Helen Chenoweth discusses the economic impacts of the environmental movement on our land base. She also exposes how the Wetlands Act and the Endangered Species Act are being used to destroy private property rights. Filmed in September of 1993.
Behind the Green Curtain: Environmentalism vs. Property Rights
A professionally produced documentary that examines the beneficial effects of carbon dioxide, including increased crop yields and vegetative growth. Produced in 1992.