Native Woodpeckers vs. Invasive Starlings (a conservation effort)

[@airrocker001]

Some people here need to realize that what this guy is doing is actually a GOOD thing. Starlings and English sparrows were introduced species in the 1890's, since then they have pushed all the naturally occurring birds out and their populations have diminished. Killing a few of them does the world a favor and allows for native species to return.

[@bearhorse2424]

THANK YOU A RESANOBLE PERSON

[@paulreynolds5047]

The English sparrow was important to England from Africa in the 1800 not that it really matters.

[@juanmagana2939]

I killed a house sparrow almost two months ago, and as a result we have 5 to 6 new baby swallows

[@dangerous8333]

@@paulreynolds5047 Important huh?

[@noelishere9280]

@@juanmagana2939 house sparrows are a protected bird why did you kill them

[@rstlr73]

European starlings have negatively impacted the native birds in most areas in North America. good job bud. thanks for doing your part.

[@achhaltdochdeinmaul]

rstlr73 European humans have negatively impacted the native humans in most Northern America. Not blaming you. Just pointing out the analogy in other life forms all over the world.

[@aldrineuri122]

Yeah I've been doing my part ever since I got my first slingshot now I have a proper .22 air rifle

[@frankiemagana8216]

And that’s why I’ve been doing my part as well (air Venturi avenger .22)

[@infinitecanadian]

Glad that someone is actually hunting invasive species. We need more people doing that round the world.

[@mineis3andhalfinches865]

I'm doing the same but I having some trouble explaining to neighbors why I hunt these's violet birds

[@rafaelgonzalez1410]

infinitecanadian didn't know they were envisave

[@infinitecanadian]

+Rafael Gonzalez They were released in the 19th Century in New York City's Central Park by some _idiots_ who wanted every bird in Shakespeare's stories to be in the U.S.A. If they wanted that so badly, why not just move to Great Britain?

[@infinitecanadian]

+Rafael Gonzalez Aye, along with house sparrows and rock pigeons (although rock pigeons aren't too bad for the environment)

[@andypanda4927]

infinitecanadian Yeah! Feral cats neat to eat.

[@jameslawson7383]

I really don't care what the haters say Ted, you should be very proud of your efforts to help those beautiful woodpeckers thrive. Starlings are very mean and aggressive birds, and will freeload any chance they get. How would the haters like to build a house, only to have some squatter come along and steal it, and then not be able to do anything about it? Keep up the good work, and the awesome videos. This one made me a subscriber.

[@WobblesandBean]

What the starlings do is worse. It's more akin to you building a house, raising a family, THEN the squatters come, kill your children and build a fort on top of their tiny corpses.

[@SubLBCgrowingforfreedom]

Amelia Bee You again?!?!?!

[@WobblesandBean]

***** Yep! Ya miss me? :p

[@andyk9229]

In my opinion this is wrong you leave nature alone

[@DellagattaHD]

andy khamsengmanivong this is not nature, European Starlings are an introduced invasive species, that do not belong in the America ecosystem. They are responsible for the decline of many cavity nesting birds including Eastern and Western Blue Bird, Northern Flicker, American Kestrel and many others. hear is a link to the cornell lab of ornithology you can see what thay say about stralings.

[@jfrich1]

PETA tracked down the nest box location, and removed the bodies in an attempt to resurrect the little bastards. Keep up the good work Ted. I know it's an old video, but ti's still a good one.

[@ednaking956]

😃😃 lol

[@sambelley9867]

I've seen Rat snakes check out starlings holes to see if there are any occupants. I once had a pair of starlings that kept evading me. One day I noticed that there had been no activity at the nest, and sure enough, I found a snake nose poking out of the hole. Raccoons also reach in birds nests.

[@ohmyblindman]

Eugene Schieffelin introduced two batches of starlings (60 in 1890 and 40 in 1891) so as to introduce all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare to North America. This genius also sponsored the introduction of the house sparrow. What an accomplished fellow.

[@DanielHHurt]

Allan, Good Answer, and true, too. When I was in the 11th grade English literature I knew there was something I did not like about Shakespere I did Not like. Now I know why. Starlings will be the final demise of the Red-headed woodpecker. Watch and see. Dan

[@FrederickDunn]

Wow.. I have to say that I didn't expect to learn so much about the flickers and starlings, specifically regarding their nesting habits. Nice tip about the saw dust... I'm definitely going to try that out. Even aside from the shooting aspects, this is really good information.. thanks for that... learned a lot! As a side note, Starlings do eat a huge number of bugs... you can see them walking across fields in rows, controlling lot of pest insects. Not judging your decision to shoot them... raccoons often reach in and eat birds out of their cavities... that's why predator guards on the entry holes are popular.

[@rattlerjake2362]

Just because they eat bugs isn't a reason to not kill them. When starling numbers are lowered, native bird (thrashers, thrushes, robins, cardinals, bluejays, blackbirds, bluebirds, flycatchers, catbirds, etc. ) populations will increase and do the same job! As far as what happened to the bird corpses, you're correct about raccoons, it could have been ratsnakes (if they are found there), even the flickers may have returned and removed them, they will reach in and pull them out.

[@GHOSTbirdnatureLOVER]

You are heroic. Northern Flickers are awesome, awesome birds, and it's a tragedy to see their populations affected by these rats of birds.

[@r.h.3532]

Pedophile Hunterits been too long, \

[@joesmoe71]

You created 3 zombie Starlings, the plague has begun...

[@LAPISTime25]

Andrew Tornadoboy I'd say it was aliens. Ancient ones specifically.

[@caseykelso1]

@@LAPISTime25 something!

[@caseykelso1]

Yup

[@vickyestepp6799]

This comment didn’t age to well

[@tophatchicken4875]

@@vickyestepp6799 I say it age like spice wine XD

[@ByRecentDesign]

When I saw the title I thought this video was going to turn me into a hater. Glad to see I was wrong, and that you were actually protecting the woodpeckers and not killing them. Happy hunting.

[@MaZaKeRaL]

probably a weasel got the dead birds. They are small enough to fit through the hole of the bird nest.

[@roberttyler8277]

+MaZaKeRaL starlings are know to bring dead ones out for the following year

[@jimirre]

Two birds, that I know of, are not protected by any law or treaty. One is the European Starling, the other is the English Sparrow. They can be dispatched at any time, for any reason.

[@TheZombieburner]

Yup.

[@devonh9011]

Nice vid helping get rid of the invasive species. Why haters gotta hate

[@McHeisenburger]

Now, I'm not saying it was aliens, but... It was aliens.

[@chonchburger4578]

true.

[@tjiniwatyangkasa9463]

Folan Wolf ,

[@Luther84695]

dang! you beat me to it

[@zhongliangcai602]

The Illuminati

[@BruceCausier]

Ted - raccoons will pull birds out of bird houses.

[@kffive]

And I will pull raccoons out of a bird house. Crazy rotations.

[@isaiahocana2149]

I think thats the best answer I've seen so far.

[@arturgareev9115]

And I would put a blow dart in he raccoon

[@AMpufnstuf]

Most likely for a hole of that size would be a least weasel is my guess.

[@shaftysgaming9857]

I bet it was rats they are known to go into nest just a opinion

[@zzzzz77771]

Birds really do have little wars. I was working on a roof doing repairs and it had a huge nesting seagul colony, when we went near the nests they would attack but the crows would try to stop them attacking us by attacking the seaguls. The crows thought that we were gonna steal the eggs and were trying to help us achieve that lol

[@derekroque3504]

try quickscoping

[@LukeTheBanana]

Lol

[@eganplaysMC]

XD

[@mr_badger_ftw4483]

You sir made my fucking day

[@daddydoc1115]

i bet you use steady aim loser

[@nicky9924]

What's wrong with steady aim? And try to make a KZbin channel this good cuz yours is shit

[@DaleBlackBass]

I have no interest in hunting and know very little about it but your videos came up and i just clicked one night and have been hooked ever since. Great stuff man,

[@mike5556]

Always good to see a starling take a hit! I like to give the fledglings a bath in brake fluid.

[@silverserienty9384]

Gotta say, I love your videos for two reasons: 1. I always learn something new 2. The freeze frames always give me some great art references. So thank you for the videos!

[@gschwartzenberger]

Ted's video offers a pretty good explanation of why he is hunting the starlings. After reading some of the comments I see that more people should listen and learn a little rather than respond as they do and show their ignorance.

[@terrance3218]

Thank you for this. I know a lot of bird lovers who get angry when people say they don't like starlings. I would like them more in their native land. Starlings (through the fault of humans) are pushing native birds out. They're the reason my neighborhood no longer has a big variety of woodpeckers now save for the red-bellied ones. Them and house sparrows.

[@10.11.9]

They're not really "bird lovers" then. I love native songbirds, therefore I despise starlings and house sparrows. The bluebird is the state bird of New York. Know how many bluebirds I saw growing up? Not a single one!

[@hughvane]

I have commented on your video about Sparrow marauders vs Swallows, and I repeat here - bravo! May I suggest that you add a perch (t-joint) to the front of the nesting boxes, just below the entrance hole, to give you a better shot at starlings (rodents of the skies) when they return to the nest. Incidentally, starling adults will return, year-after-year, to the same nesting site until such time they cannot gain access (sparrows the same). A sliding tray/drawer, or a hinged trapdoor, at the base of the nesting box could be a solution to extraction of 'waste material'.

[@gtgamer666]

The woodpeckers ate them! LOL

[@iSparkettei]

lol, revenge!

[@MC-fb9ft]

Northern Flickers are in decline, good on you for taking corrective action against these invasive species.

[@imaketheglockpop5216]

If you don't agree with what he's doing then why are you watching this video?

[@snow-in4zp]

Ted "We lost the war but not the battle" Me " yeah you did..... wait....WHAT?!"

[@travisheck5979]

subbed. fucking awesome. AND HUMANE, I bet alot of haters don't understand that. This is humane pest control of invasive species people... not joykilling everything in sight! keep up the awesome work and vids man.

[@TheZombieburner]

Better than poison, that's for sure.

[@mwarnock54]

Same problem in Texas with red bellied woodpeckers and starlings. Last year I killed over 10 starlings with a pellet rifle. The woodpeckers raised two chicks. Good work!

[@jtmagicman25]

I started thinning out the Blackbirds near me, in MO.... I've noticed that other birds have learned about my actions and have closed in on my proximity. We have Starlings, Brewers blackbirds and the common Grackle that travel together. After a couple shots with my NP2, they don't come back for hours on end. The wood peckers have started thriving, and also the cardinals. The Grackle is not an evasive species, but is huge compared to a starling. All of the blackbirds are considered pests here. Can you make a super detailed video about sighting in a scope? No one ever says which way to turn the turrets to get the correct results for shooting at distance. When it comes to scopes, I am sort of dyslexic. I turn the turret the wrong way and miss by a mile. And I shoot up into the trees so I don't hit anything else.... which makes my scope even more off. I'm sort of a beginner at using high powered scopes... I'm too used to open sights... and My new airguns don't have sights.

[@davidwilliams799]

jtmagicman25 Lots to be said for peep sites, jtm25. Re: sighting in your scope... -pick a target, 15 meters away (paper plate, w/a center dot, &, a safe, appropriate oversized backstop. - place your crosshairs on the dot. give yourself 3-5 shots, just to see where your group lands. -if you're on the plate, or, can see where you hit the backstop, adjust (windage, or, elevation) which ever is farthest away from your poa (point of aim / crosshairs on dot). -find out the increments per click on your scopes manual. If you're not sure which way to adjust your scope, pending your 1st group placement; if you're hitting around 3 or 9 o'clock... adjust windage. if your hitting around 12 or 6 o'clock... adjust your elevation. -use paper & pen if need be, to keep track of which way you turned, noting which way your poi (point of impact) moved. Once you've got that down (for that scope, &, distance), AND, as long as your airgun 'groups' well... you're well on your way. Hope this helps. SHLWM (way more than merely.... Peace) ! : )

[@jtmagicman25]

David Williams I think on my centerpoint 4-16x40 scope, if the point of impact is left of the crosshair, I turn the turret left and if it's hitting low, I also turn the elevation left. But I could be wrong. Weird thing is... I can't put a pellet on a paper bullseye, but I continually drop birds all the time. with near perfect heart and lung shots. almost always shooting off hand.

[@SamDaHam80]

Yo man, I live in Missouri too!

[@Lewis_6.7]

Same

[@macy725]

+jtmagicman25 Brewers black birds and Grackles are protected species in the US you know?

[@tshorse]

Good job Mr Ted and great shooting and patience. I hate the Starlings, ugly,nasty, make a mess during nesting. I am in Humboldt Co Calif where the nasty ass bird is flying amok. I have done my part and wiped out about 5oo+ out of a million. U da Man............TS

[@juanstime172]

Good shooting. . Love that scope camera combination. .

[@amandaharris4830]

think it was a house cat or a BIGFOOT!

[@jvflex8603]

glad someone's doing damage control. Thank you! And haters don't realize the destruction these birds are creating for our native species.

[@vevohoeyo]

shot every damn starling u possibly can they are the worst bird ever

[@davidpook7306]

And cats wont eat starlings ether.

[@jameskolar9655]

The next Murmuration will be a few Starlings short, I'm sure they won't be missed!

[@Tlactl]

How to kill starlings without doing anything yourself: 1. get a cat 2. wait

[@JonathanGray_UK]

I've got 2 cats, they prefer sparrows and occasionally starling chicks. never had adults ones yet though

[@gnorp_]

Starlings are FUCKING BIRDS.

[@OdeeOz]

Welfare birds at that, since they lay eggs in Sparrow and other birds nests, for said other birds to raise.

[@rstlr73]

my cat won't eat them. lol

[@D3RPTV]

TheRealMcCoy chill the fuck out don't get salty because I'm the odd one out

[@UltStream]

Save the bullets for zombies.

[@michaelkrynski7793]

They have invaded-nested in the range hood vent above my stove for the past 2 years now.. before that everything was fine! and they even kick out the cute sparrow families that live right outside our window. I love all animals and I am sure that Ted does as well but when an invasive species becomes a dangerous pest you kinda have to do what must be done. I have so far been able to peacefully resolve the situation by physically removing them each time but enough is enough. p.s. we have a tall bush outside our window/balcony and we see everything from doves to cardinals to the most recent and coolest of all either a Red-Tail or Coopers Hawk. so beautiful.

[@ARod-br2ui]

just discovered your channel. great work dude. I really enjoy.

[@endergaming4173]

A raccoon or maybe a crow or raven.

[@malnutritionboy]

+Endergaming racoons keep attacking the bird nests

[@seanbrossard8178]

I had a friend that had multiple barn cats and the only bird there would not eat was starlings. Here in Northern California we have plenty of them.

[@nathanaelhall6511]

maybe a flecker took it to acknowledge the revenge

[@zzzzz77771]

Hahaha, yeah, flaunted their corpses in front of the other sparrows!

[@hateUmankind]

don't forget bird feed on other bird like the annoying woodpecker but the starlings do there eat other bird just curious about them

[@AndreGarciaJr]

i think you meant to say although we lost the battle we won't loose the war i think

[@skunkhome]

Years ago when I was at Fort Campbell Ky there were huge flocks of starlings. The local animal rights backed by the New York activist put a injunction on the 101st to keep them from spraying the roosts with detergent and water to kill the birds on freezing nights. The birds were a significant health risk as they carried histoplasmosis a TB mimicking disease. Ironically at the same time the local birdwatching society was bemoaning the fact of the decline in red h added woodpecker sightings. We finally got the injunction lifted and killed so many starlings it took 57 dump truck loads to carry them away to be incinerated.

[@lorddraylon]

I still say people need to get a taste for these birds. They are actually quite good. Cook like you would dove or any other small fowl.

[@BastaGenug]

+lorddraylon time for some featheredratbecue. Make a starling cooking contest and it will catch on. You know how competitive people are.

[@fishhateme14]

+lorddraylon Starling-kabobs?

[@lorddraylon]

I just made 50 pounds last night for a family reunion. they are actually delicious.

[@ChrisMSpoerl]

Those things at the end look like black bear cubs..?

[@xoxoloveya991]

they look like black baby collies

[@adrianbrogan1061]

They're dogs lol

[@raemeredith3687]

It seems that three already dead starlings would make an excellent meal for any pine snake, or similar species, that came along to investigate a nest. Unless snakes aren't common in the area, of course. I learned quite a lot from your video, thank you for being such a strong advocate of our native birds.

[@whatfor5]

Any update to this story Ted?

[@NekkedAsian]

Aliens.

[@wylieecoyote]

Well done Ted! Great shooting, great backstory and great educational information. Oh.. great sunset as well.

[@darkgray8734]

the point of this channel is to hunt animals that land owners cant kill them selves , he is not doing most of this for fun , he makes money both uploading videos & hunting , so if you dont like that fact then you can always watch other youtube videos (:

[@Ats192]

The owner took those dead birds out

[@snlself]

I rehab native songbirds and shoot starlings/house sparrows daily when I can. I only wish my aim was better. I've had starlings kill downy woodpeckers, bluebirds and nestling red belly woodpeckers in my yard. They're non-native and I appreciate your work, Ted. On behalf of native birds everywhere, thank you.

[@christophersanchez3213]

great shots....

[@conorbarnes3481]

I thought the little fluffy things at the end were bears!!

[@blomkransen]

+Conor Barnes I Think they ate the bears!

[@BarronVonHopper]

Starlings are infested with bird mites. They were living in the attic of an apartment I used to rent and these mites came down into the living area and the whole building had to be bombed by Orkin,

[@JayHernan]

Ants ate them YO! There is a video on youtube of a gecko that gets completely devoured by ants withing hours

[@dont5291]

oh, jay! :D

[@JayHernan]

addamhussein420 AAAAAAANNNNNNNTTTTSSSSSSSS! EVERYWHERE HELP!

[@drewstevens7248]

those were solenopsis, they usually stick to the ground

[@SGBass]

Starlings are cannibals...just sayin'

[@mikefoley3785]

No, they're not.

[@thalittlepig]

+Mike Foley Yes. Yes they are.

[@thinkingronin6178]

Those who value civilization would have much to learn from this video.

[@davethepondguy9533]

I'm thinking raccoons reached in there and grab them

[@billiebleach7889]

Waiting two, three hours to for those critters to pop out their head? Ain't got time for that,bro...take the ladder, drag them out, twist the neck...let the cats enjoy a tender snack. 😺😺😺

[@danbrittson371]

Those starlings that were in the bird house are more than likely chillin with members of the heavens gate members on the tail of hale Bob

[@tightygrone]

Thanks for protecting the native species. In the US Starlings are an invasive alien, for what it's worth, I totally approve. BTW, Nice shootin'. Missing bodies, possums - small but self-sufficient foraging young in July. Maybe a small raccoon?

[@jacksblack1]

Are you ready for zombies/

[@ericl2969]

Keep up the good work. When I was a kid, we had a big multi-unit house for purple martins on the roof of our garage. Keeping the English sparrows from overrunning the place was a never-ending challenge. Going up on the roof and using a hook to pull out sparrow nests was effective but that stressed-out the martins too. My dad got a permit from the city to shoot the sparrows with an air rifle, and he put little "backstop boards" on the corners of the "walkway" that encircled the bird house, since sparrows like to perch at those corners. That way, any errant shots would be stopped instead of sailing off into the neighbors' places. My dad used the now-classic Sheridan air rifle for this, pumped up only into the low part of the range of use-able pressures, again for safety in the neighborhood. Another trick was a home-built trap, which was a "decoy bird house" with dried grass sticking out the entrance hole (so it looked much like a sparrow nest). The sparrows couldn't resist checking it out, and once inside, a lightly counterbalanced trap door would give way beneath them and drop them into a fabric bag hanging under the house, and then the trap door would swing shut again, ready to fool the next sparrow into thinking there was a "floor" in there. We got rid of countless sparrows with that trap. I don't have any kind of air rifle these days, so if I had found myself in your position with that flicker nest, I think I would have just prepared a little patch to tack in place and cover the doorway of that nest box before the young starlings took to the wing.

[@norbertrivera]

I also have a plague of birds in my home .They are destroying my organic garden but this is not my main worry : there is a big bird that is killing my chickens and this is the big target.I think I must get this rifle

[@freekickfrenzy1392]

get the gamo whisper fusion pro .177 with the gamo whisper pellets, the gamo hunter extreme SE .177, the gamo bone collector bull whisper .177, or the gamo whisper .177! the .177 is better for birds because it is nice in fast and kills them instantly and its cheaper to shoot. I recommend the first one the whisper fusion pro! its amazing but if you use the PBA(precision ballistic alloy) pellets it will be as loud as a .22

[@bigstylestudio]

_

[@badlandskid]

Oh yeah... I just bought myself a little Christmas present this year. I can't wait to get it zeroed so I can start murdering Avian Nuisance Species. Won't be taking my chickens.

[@freekickfrenzy1392]

hell yeah

[@frecklesrvb9019]

Edward chantler hicks to die in a fire hippie

[@biagiocozza2933]

Well done, I love the Starling shots you take. They are pests, and should be treated that way. I guess people don't realize that they are bad for our indigenous birds. Great, thanks for showing that Gio

[@biagiocozza2933]

Starlings are bad for our Indigenous birds, they are basically killing our local birds in North America. I have no problem taking out a starling with my 22lr or air rifle.

[@tiveqcriarcontanova]

Biagio Cozza 'MURICA!

[@ShadowriverUB]

They are not "bad", you could entitle lot of animals "bad" as they have natural 0 care about other species.. including us. They didn't fly there for there own wish and when they got there, they try what all species tries to do... survive and as american spiecies was not prepared for them, eco-system been disbalanced. If they are so bad why they are red listed in there native land where there numbers actually reducing? I understand intent of preservation of original eco-system, but i don't understand all this hate toward them, that sometimes sounds really stupid (like shiting on car, when any bird can shit on your car), hunters can do job without that... i mean we are the one as spiecies who bring them there just to shoot and hate them later on. I won't hide that personally like starlings and imo they are most fun birds to watch... but you know i'm from Europe :p

[@dougiequick1]

I hear one of the worst things for birds is the house cat! The Audubon society I guess just freaking hates cats! ...good luck for anyone that starts sniping CATS on youtube though ...the cat lovers will put a hit out!

[@christopherneelyakagoattmo6078]

I have seen crows eating starlings that I have shot. Raccoons, Fishers, weasels all are certainly possibilities.

[@dabeardsmen3621]

Keep shooting

[@sethh8892]

owles

[@ChildofYHVH]

I went to school with a guy that was a southern flicker. Every time you looked at him he was digging for gold. 😂😂😂😂 Good video as always!!!

[@nicolec7290]

good shot and good film

[@isaacpham499]

Your enthusiasm of killing these birds is kind of scary 0_0 however I do understand your purpose for killing them.

[@rickyspanishh6153]

Isaac Pham overpopulation and ruining landowners yard they want them gone he goes in and gets rid of them.

[@Kitties_are_pretty]

Whenever you show footage of the birds you like through your scope, it really brings to mind the fact that the difference between their continued existence and their immediate death is the way that you feel about that bird species.

[@baneofbanes]

Joshua Brooks And in the wild it depends on whether or not a predator is hungry, or if there’s enough food, or...

[@Kitties_are_pretty]

I didn't say the only factor in the life of a bird he happens to encounter is his emotional reaction to the bird species. I recognize there are times other than the moment this man is pointing a gun at them that they can die. Indeed, a serial killer might rightly point out that while they might have killed someone, they could otherwise have been hit by a train, or died of disease, or had a heart attack...

[@kbellguy]

God I hate starlings. I have an Air Arms S510 and spend all year either shooting starlings or day dreaming about shooting starlings.

[@LD-dx1cw]

thanks for the idea for the plexiglass in front of the woodpecker birdhouse. Great idea as we have nasty starlings here on the East Coast too.

[@JM10344]

Good stuff Ted. Love to listen to smart people.

[@rarusnak]

With bluebird nest boxes it is known that a slotted (incompletely covered) roof the starlings will not use the nest box. This may work with flicker nest boxes as well?

[@ianklausing700]

You are badass my friend. You're providing a service and you do it with excellence and professionalism that is incredibly impressive.

[@airgunnersedge4061]

I take out as many European starlings as I can at work,not for fun but large groups will gather and literally poop on $140,000 trucks that we work on and nest in our building , and they are an invasive species that does threaten native birds.... as always a great video and I enjoyed it very much .... I also forgot to mention there are a pair of red tail hawks that also live around us so I leave the remains for them and or whatever chooses to take advantage of a free meal...

[@webster7710]

Don't concern yourself with haters, Ted. Judging by their sentence structure and grammar, they are just uneducated children having an emotional reaction to the deaths of animals that Disney movies have anthropomorphized in their minds. Once they grow up a bit and learn how the world really works, we can all have a nice, adult discussion about what a damn fine shot you are with those air rifles. Keep up the good work, man.

[@elhigh]

"What happened to those birds?" Almost anything. Curious raccoons, desperate squirrels, ants. Somewhere on KZbin there's a vid of ants taking a dead small lizard completely apart. Even the bones get taken away, it's amazing.

[@shellyd9287]

Sooooo gratifying to see the pests eliminated. I’m searching for pest control methods for starlings in my yard and was pleased to find that they are NOT protected, nor are house sparrows!! I tried a cheap $44 airsoft bb pistol but it was garbage. I don’t want to scare the neighbors but it seems I must resort to a pellet rifle. $800 million annually, the damages Starlings cause in the US.

[@TurfWars2025]

I've found blackbird nests that include feathers and bones of other birds among the twigs and grasses that make up the nest. Maybe other birds took them as building materials? So were the starlings useful after all?

[@Gman6755]

I grew up shooting starlings with my pellet rifle. They are totally pests and you cannot shoot enough of them. Keep up the fine shooting!

[@linky13]

Starlings cost US agriculture 1 billion dollars in crop damage per year.

[@TemenosL]

You read my mind. Those *adorable* little pups look SO much like little piggies!

[@elizabethgroark2841]

This is Joshua from Sacramento, CA. I like your videos and you have some great info in them! Keep It up!

[@1911m1a1ellis]

I live in England and happen to like starlings. In fact, they are my favourite bird. Is there no other way to control them? I like to see them murmurating before they nesting under Eastbourne pier.

[@scwheeler24]

+Ivor Biggun England is where they belong. They mess up the eco system here like other exotics can. There is no other way but to eradicate them

[@1911m1a1ellis]

Susan Wheeler OK. We have a similar problem over here with Grey Squirrels which have driven the native Red Squirrels away. But we can't shoot them as they are 'cute' and people feed them! Maybe you can get a Hawk of some kind to scare them off your property?

[@charnwoodserpentarium8665]

+Ivor Biggun I am a British pest control technician and yes, you can shoot/trap/kill Grey Squirrels providing you have the landowner's permission. In fact, as they are non-native exotics, if you live trap a Grey Squirrel it is illegal to release it back into the wild (last I heard, £1,000 possible fine if caught releasing them). Starlings however are completely protected by law over here :D and I love them to bits! The problem with using Hawks is that it'll scare ALL of the bird life away, and it only moves the problem somewhere else.

[@1911m1a1ellis]

Heather Lidstone Hello, I suggested the hawks to a person in America. Our problem in Eastbourne are Herring Gulls. Awful creatures. I admire them, but they actually attack people, squawk all day and poo over everything.

[@charnwoodserpentarium8665]

Ivor Biggun Yep, I personally think some of the gull species should be on the general licenses. They're fine on sea cliffs but in towns and on rubbish dumps I think they're a bigger hygeine problem than pigeons! But no, I can't shoot them!

[@fasx56]

Ted you are doing a good service trying to get Northern Flickers to nest. The starlings were one of the worst non native species to ever be introduced in this country. We one the Revolutionary War, but the British got even with us by bringing starlings to our shores.

[@DrFlippin]

great story-telling! Thanks for producing and posting!

[@jorgecallico9177]

Next time you have 3 baby starlings (or other nuisance birds) stuck in the bird house? Why not get a cork stopper. First fill the house with ice then plug the hole.

[@kunibertrandolf1886]

Jorge Callico Because he doesn't want them to suffer. He just wants them dead. Your idea is just as sich as the dudes who pours breaker fluid into the houses

[@michelj.gaudet5048]

Hey, Ted. I just LOVE the "Little Giant' ladder, which is what I THINK you were using there. I've had mine for almost twenty years now, and still good as new!

[@esoomreltna]

Nice shooting and I like the video through the scope slowed to observe the trajectory. Starlings are a PIA.

[@MarcStutzel]

100 Starlings were brought from England and let loose in NY in 1900. They rapidly bred like flys and spread throughout North America . They displace Blue birds as the "rats" of the avian world, taking over their nests like the flickers as we see here. I respect your care and attention to clean kills and the fact that you eat what you kill. Pidgeon our native Rock Dove is good eating. Keep it up and I will join the rat kill when I get an air rifle. M

[@OdeeOz]

The real problem with Starlings is, they maintain their population level, regardless of hardships, unless you eradicate them all.

[@cb1677]

Starlings, house sparrows kill all kinds of native songbirds. No mercy!

[@milsub59]

Do you have stoats , or a similar animal as we do in the UK? They will climb trees to predate on the chicks of birds using nest boxes. I have seen footage of them climbing into a woodpecker nest to kill all the chicks.

[@JM10344]

My mom enjoys hearing all this interesting info I share with her.