Starling Bait

[longislandhunter]

The wife and I attended my fishing clubs annual dinner/dance last night, and as usual our table consisted of us and 2 other couples, both couples good friends who are also my neighbors and who also live to hunt and fish.  We usually spend most of the night talking about fishing and hunting, but I was surprised last night when my one friend started talking about how he's been having a blast shooting starlings in his  yard with his air rifle.  I never even knew he was into air rifles.  Then my other friend at the table says, "yeah, I got one of those, I got it for Christmas a few years ago but never really use it".  By the time the evening was over both of them were all pumped up about getting into air gun small game hunting.  

Anyway, the friend who's been shooting the starlings said he came across a good starling bait recipe online and said after mixing up a large batch of it and hanging it in his yard he's been deluged with starlings. He said prior to putting up the bait it was rare for him to get a starling in his yard.   Matter of fact his wife has been popping the starlings when he's at work, of course she says she's a better shot.  Anyway, he gave me the recipe, I'm gonna brew some and give it a try......................here it is..................

Combine beef fat, yellow corn meal and chunky peanut butter in a large pot.  Heat slowly until it all melts down to a liquid.  Stir thoroughly until well blended..  Pour mixture into a large square shaped pan of some sort and let cool completely.  When cooled and solid you then cut the "block of bait" into squares the proper size to fit into your suet feeders (which can be made easily out of wire mesh).  Install the suet feeders in yard and start shootin  :)

My buddy swears by this stuff.  With all the starlings that have returned to my area in the last couple of weeks I'm lookin forward to giving this a try.  

Jeff

[Gene_SC]

Ya Jeff, I have never been into shooting birds around here. I am always afraid I would shoot the wrong species... I would hate to shoot a blue jay or those pretty red birds.. But we have buzzards and black birds but they never come around our place.. I could get behind shooting a big bird. I pass big fields with thousands of black birds all the time and wish I could shoot them but they are on private property most of the time. We also have millions of finches but are so small and cute, I would not want to shoot em...hehe

To tell you the truth with my eyes, I would not be able to tell a starling from a sparrow... hehe  

I have thought of baiting for tree rats but never found a good treat they would like.. We have cats next door and I think that is why they never come around... I have tried putting corn cobs hanging from trees etc. but the cobs have never been touched.. hehe.

Welll anyway Jeff, keep us informed on how that witches brew works...:)

Gene

[longislandhunter]

Hey Gene,

For the squirrels try putting out cracked corn and large sunflower seeds,,,, the tree rats love them :)

As for the starlings,,,,, the adults are easily recongnized by their black overall color, white speckled breasts and of course their bright yellow beaks.   The juveniles can be a little difficult to I.D. sometimes due to their more subdued colorings, but there's no missing the adults   :)

In NY starlings are considered pests, are totally legal to shoot anytime and in any numbers,,,, I think most of the rest of the states classify them the same way, but of course it's always best to check your states regulations prior to shootin anything.  

I'll keep ya up to date on the "brew" and how it works.

Jeff

[CharlieDaTuna]

My question to you Jeff would be....how do they taste...hee..hee

[shadow]

We got them around here but thy don't land in my yard, they just buzz the field's. The little colorful guy's are for the wife's pleasure but the black bird's take dirt  nap's when they hit the yard hehe. Ed

[nyairman]

I bet you guys could have talked about airgun/hunting all night Jeff. As for that Starling bait...it didn't taste so good...lol!

[longislandhunter]

Bob,

I probably shouldn't admit  this but I have to be honest,,,,, I have in fact tried starling and believe it or not it's pretty tasty !!  Being the died in the wool hunter/gatherer that I am I was searching the internet one night looking for wild game recipes and I came across a couple of sites devoted to eating starling.  Well, the next day I hit the duck farm, bagged me a bunch of starlings, breasted them out and threw em in a pan with some herb and garlic butter until they were firm and brown.  Gotta tell ya,,,,, was a pretty good lunch  :)

I wouldn't make a habit out of eatin em, but I just had to try it and I"m not sorry I did  :)

Jeff

[Silo]

Well just look at what these guys are feeding them! it's no wonder that they taste so good! hehe!!

[CharlieDaTuna]

Jeff... I gotta tell ya my friend.  You truly amaze me and I think that it's great that "woodsmen" will take that extra stretch. After I responded to your post in a joking manner, I thought to myself that I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if you didn't at least try it.  And sure as hell... Jeff..yer da man.

[daved]

My thoughts exactly, Bob, couldn't have put it better!  Jeff, you are some peice of work, and I'm happy to call you a friend, even if we never meet.

Dave

[longislandhunter]

Thanks Dave,,,, Thanks Bob,,,,,

After I hit the "submit" button on that post I said to myself......."oh boy,, this posts gonna come back to haunt me,,,, the guys are gonna roast me real good for this one".     :)

Jeff