1000s of starlings

[kiwi]

Every night at about 7:30....1000s & 1000s
of starlings roost up in a belt of trees about 100m
from my mothers back fence..After a day eating grapes
out in the vineyards...and I can't shoot them..
Theres  open padocks between with at least 20 houses
over looking it..If I walk across with a air gun and start
shooting the little buggers yer can bet some one is going to
call the cops..

The sky is black with them some nights...Dam it
p!sses me off..I could spend hours over there....

theres got to be other areas they do the same
where I can shoot them unseen...
just got to fined them

Pete

[longislandhunter]

That would certainly be a very frustrating situation no doubt....  I think you're right though, there have to be other places where they are also roosting at the end of the day, maybe even places where the land owners would be receptive to you shooting them.  Take a drive or a walk and see if you can find some of these other areas.  Better yet,,,, I'd go talk to the owners of the vineyard where these birds are feasting all day on grapes.  I guarantee you that the vineyard owners are not to pleased about having thousands of yellow beaks in their grape vines all day eating their crop......  maybe they'll give you permission to help keep the birds away......  The owners of the duck farm I pest hunt at have thanked me many times for helping to control the woodchuck, starling and pigeon problems they have each year.  

Jeff

[N_Strike]

Hy Pete,

why don't you just creep stealthy at dusk and nail all the little bastards at night with a PCA/PCA pistol?

I know it's not the same than with the rifle but with the gun it'd be more fair.

[DougT]

kiwi,

Why don't you schedule a vacation to Oregon.  WadeS and I'll take you shooting and you can shoot starlings until you run out of pellets, break your gun or go insane.  Darkness doesn't even matter as we bring spotlights and shoot birds inside barns.  

Lots of fun.  I'm serious.

Doug

[airiscool]

Pete,
Sure would drive me batty.

Like Jeff said, I'd go see the folks at the Vinyard.

When I was a kid my brother and his father-in-law would take me to a duck farm like Jeff hunts and we'd spend all day with a 12 ga blasting holes in the black clouds of birds that would fly over. The owner was always happy to see us because he said the DEC estimated there were 50,000 black birds on his property. They were eating 1 to 1-1/2 tons of duck food a week.  

Paul.

[jake]

that would be very frustrating. but i would rather pass on them then shoot and have the risk of hitting a house or getting the cops called. they've got to be roosting somewhere else/ or maybe you can put some cattfood or something where you can shoot them so maybe it would lure them in.