Sending a message...? - Page 2

Lamebeaver · 11-22-2011, 08:09 PM

The message is "I'm a few fries short of a happy meal"

Starlings aren't that smart.

ponderosa · 11-23-2011, 01:07 AM

I wish it would work. I'd be willing to give it a try after the havoc they wreaked in my gardens this year. I loathe starlings.

dinosaur · 11-23-2011, 05:25 AM

When I was a boy, we had a large garden (about an acre) and had a problem with crows. So, we built a scarecrow. It didn't work. When we would go out to the garden, the crows would be sitting on it. My dad and I went out after dark to their roost and used a shotgun to kill a half dozen of them. We stripped the scarecrow and instead hung the crow carcasses from the cross beam. That did it. We sent them a message.

ppine · 11-23-2011, 04:14 PM

In places like Italy the older people still catch songbirds and eat them. That is why there is so little wildlife in many parts of the world. If it moves, people eat it. We are fortunate to live in a country with advanced conservation ethics and a clean environment. If you don't believe me just travel anywhere outside of N Amer to see the difference.

wvbreamfisherman · 11-23-2011, 04:59 PM

Of course in the case of starlings, they are in invasive species released into this country in an effort to acquaint the "Colonials" with all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare. They have displaced a number of native species, including Purple Martins. As far as I know (and for sure in WV) they are totally unprotected, continuous open season and no bag limit. I used to pick them off with BB gun at my mom's birdfeeder, and it was good, cheap target practice.

EddieK47 · 11-23-2011, 05:53 PM

Sounds like the guy is a sicko and you would be smart to just say hi but keep your distance!Like birds are really going to get a message.If you don't eat it why kill it!

ponderosa · 11-23-2011, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EddieK47

Sounds like the guy is a sicko and you would be smart to just say hi but keep your distance!Like birds are really going to get a message.If you don't eat it why kill it!

So a flock of them doesn't destroy every apple, berry, and seedling of any kind from my garden and yard. The little feathered menaces even plucked the leaves from my tomatoes and peppers, apparently just for sport. They didn't eat them, just plucked them until there was nothing left but a stripped stem. Between the starlings and the squirrels, we didn't have any usable apples this year.

Grandpa · 11-23-2011, 07:09 PM

Starling are like rats, jack rabbits, voles and other pests that need to be controlled.

Skeeterbait · 11-28-2011, 02:06 PM

Too be fair, if you made Starlings go extinct in the US, you'd be doing the continent a favor. They're a destructive and invasive species here. Same goes for those cute little European House Sparrows--they kill bluebirds.

Though I'm pretty sure your neighbor is nuts.

hummingbird · 11-28-2011, 09:01 PM

Totally agree on the nut job. Starlings aren't smart enough to take the hint. Crows on the other hand, can learn human speech, so they at least have a talent to lay claim to. They can also learn other things such as what it means when the little darlings are hung out on a scarecrow rig by Dinosaur.