S&S elimination vs restriction

Guest · Sat May 16, 2009 10:00 pm

Since I have round holes while trying to get a colony started, I trap and eliminate starlings and sparrows on sight. Out of the landlords who use SREH, how many trap and/or shoot starlings in addition to restricting starling entrance in their martin housing? I figure that martin landlords, as a group, can't have much impact on starling populations as a whole, but every little bit helps.

It's just a question out of curiosity. No offense intended to anyone.

M.Stephens · Sat May 16, 2009 10:51 pm

I trap and shoot but I have not seen a starling at my site since last weekend and it landed on the powerlines but as soon as I grabbed my shotgun it was gone.A sparrow showed up chirping on one of my houses Thursday and I blew it away when it landed on the powerlines. Most of my housing are crescent ,I have one TRIO house with one nesting pair of martins in it with 5 eggs.My heath house has round holes with one nesting pair,PMCA 12 -gourd rack no birds yet and it is round holes.Personally don't have a problem with starlings as I have an arsenal of traps and weapons ,but I seldom have to use them. Believe me when I go to town starlings are everywhere! I have 12 systems up and all are open, mostly with the crescents though.I noticed on your posts you lost your original colony and are trying again ,hang in there! I think you will get birds again there are alot of good people on this forum who's info should help you. Sorry to gab too much

Emil Pampell-Tx · Sun May 17, 2009 2:01 am

I nestbox trap during the warm months, and shoot them any time that I can

Guest · Sun May 17, 2009 4:47 am

I trap and shoot S&S year round!!!!!!!!! The more you get rid of, the less you have to worry about breeding and making more!!!!
If your colony is 100% SREH like mine that may help your colony but what about your neighbors??? If they have round holes they are having a starling problem and they may not be trapping and shooting like you.
Look at it like this if you kill them year round and stop the local population from growing, your neighbor will also have a better chance of successfully fledging martins which in turn will give your colony a better chance.

Steve Kroenke · Sun May 17, 2009 4:56 am

We use round holes in our two personal martin colonies and don't have much of a starling problem. If any show up during the year, I shoot them. I haven't shot any in 2009 so far but usually shoot around five or six each season.

However, I tried something different for the 2009 martin season. I actively trapped some starlings that were showing up in November and December of 2008 and early January of 2009. During that time I destroyed 13 starlings in nest box, door and insert traps and that would represent about two years worth of starlings for our colonies. This early starling trapping success may have lessened any starling activity around our colonies later this season. I plan to continue the off season trapping again if starlings are around late in 2009.

Steve

Guest · Sun May 17, 2009 5:50 am

Because there are so many people living in my neighborhood, it would be dangerous to shoot. However, I trap all winter and spring, using french fries and pine needles as bait! Those are my worst S&S months. In the summer they just all seem to disappear.

LNCummins · Sun May 17, 2009 6:19 am

We use conley excluders and round holes,trap and shoot all year.Have got rid of well over a 100 starlings and about 30 HS since about Feb. of this year.

Courtney-NC · Sun May 17, 2009 11:36 am

My site is all SREH and I also have an NB-Compact trap up to get the starlings that come looking for a round hole. This year no HOSP but I have a repeating trap for them too that I bait with nesting material. I have never seen either here during the winter months but if I did I would trap 'em then too.

Ron Shaffer · Sun May 17, 2009 1:12 pm

I haven't had a starling breach any of my gourds since I converted to nearly 100 percent modified excluders two years ago...and my birds enter them with ease.
I still like to bring my crosshairs to bear on the little brown pests, however. Call me deranged, but I do get special satisfaction in putting my .177 cal hollowpoint pellets to special use. At least that one won't hinder my martins' nesting process. Only had to dust two EHS's so far this year.

John Miller · Sun May 17, 2009 1:33 pm

I can't discharge a firearm in the city -- of course it doesn't stop some folks. Anyway...there are starlings everywhere in the park sites -- one just has to glance left or right. SREH blocks 99 percent of them. In occasional instances when I've had starling problems, I've just gone to a more restrictive SREH. John M

Guest · Sun May 17, 2009 3:02 pm

Steve- interesting about the early trapping. It amazes me how few starlings you have, but I suppose it shouldn't. We had none (that I ever saw) until two years ago.

M. Stephens- funny about the "starlings everywhere" comment. :D
Now that DH has finally gotten the knack of shooting a pellet rifle, I think it has become like his childhood days at the shooting gallery.:D
(he's an expert marksman with a regular rifle, but pellet rifles have been so radically different for his shooting style that it's been a real hassle for him.)

John Miller- just curious. I know that pellet rifles are not legally classified as a firearm, so wouldn't that make them exempt from municipal firearms laws? I'll see what I can find on the subject.

Ron- similar sentiments here.

Thanks everyone for your input. It sounds like a considerable number of martin landlords practice both control and restrictive methods. I'm thrilled to hear this.