The awful has happened...daggone starlings!

[robndebby]

We changed all our houses many years ago for only gourds with crescent holes. Goodbye to starlings! It has been wonderful...until...today I noticed a starling go into one of the gourds, then another went into another gourd. They have nesting material in their mouths, but they cannot get in with it and drop it, but still go into the gourds. We do have sparrows every year but find when we pull out their nests every day, they finally give up and go somewhere else. I cannot hold the air rifle Rob bought, thing is way too heavy for me, and he tries to shoot them when he sees them, however, those little guys are smart. They know you are around somewhere! He usually shoots from a bedroom window so they don't see him, and he sometimes gets them, but they are persistent. We usually end up getting rid of them and now we have to start all over again trying to send them packing. Just hope we can do it before they bother the Martins.

Question to you guys, if you know: When the Martins are fledging, is it a good idea to put up new gourds so they'll know for next year? We are about at capacity (36 gourds) and we haven't added any for many years. We've had the Martins about 28 years, starting small, then growing over time, just wondering if fledging time would be a good start for next year?

Happy Purple Martin Season Everyone!

[flyin-lowe]

Are you asking if you should put up more gourds so the martins that fledge this year will know there is housing available next year? If so that is not necessary. Banding studies show that a pretty low percentage of martins return to the site the fledge from the following year to nest. I guess myself it is to avoid inbreeding, there may be other theories out there. Someone else will chime in but I was thinking it was around 10-20% return to the site they were born and the rest usually come back within a 50 mile range or so.
As for your starlings, are they going into cavities that martins are already using? If not I would close them off to see if they try another cavity. Reason being you could have a gourd or two with an SREH that is slightly to large, or you could just have a couple of smaller starlings that are able to get in. With the long winter late spring we are having they might not be getting enough to eat to keep them full size.

Some people never reach 100% capacity for some reason or another. If you have 36 cavities available and average around 30 pair that would be normal. If next year you put op 45 cavities you would probably get 35-40 pair. It seems the further south you get with higher populations the more likely you are to get to 100%

[Lizzie]

I can recommend a small inexpensive air rifle that you can buy at Walmart, and as long as you are strong enough to pump it 4-5 times, it has plenty of knock-down power at 75 feet, and is highly accurate. It's called a "Remington Airmaster 77" but actually made by Crosman. Just a cheapie little plastic stock, and sized for a teen or smallish woman, but it is easy to shoot, and I have had great success with mine, prior to upgrading to a German made air rifle.
I favor killing every starling I see. (just shot another one yesterday)
Something that you m ay want to take notice of....on my property, the starlings are VERY predictable.
During breeding season, when they are looking for nesting sites, they show up at 0930, give or take 20-30 minutes. No idea why that is, but I could almost set my clock by their behavior. You may find that there are certain times of the day when the starlings are usually going to visit, and take advantage of that.

[BillieJR]

A question I have about air rifles....becuase I am totally 100% unfamiliar with them at all.....my husband and boys have only had "real" rifles that shoot bullets.....if you shoot an air rifle and miss the bird - will it make a hole in your gourd or house? thanks

[Lizzie]

It depends on what the house Is made of, and how powerful the air rifle is.
If the house is thin aluminum, I could foresee it making jerk in the house. It won't typically penetrate a wood house. Plastic, pretty certain it would go right through that!

My houses are wood. I've shot a lot of starlings and sparrows off those houses, and have had a few misses, but it doesn't penetrate the wood, just dents it, and knocks the paint off, so it's necessary to repaint periodically.

[BillieJR]

Ok, that makes sense. So it would probably put a hole in a gourd (not natural), then. thanks!

[Lizzie]

Oh wow! Not really!
I was thinking of the thin plastic S&K houses!
With the plastic gourds, I think you'd be fine. The plastic on those is quite thick, assuming the different brands are similar.
I would be surprised if a pellet would punch holes in those.

[Gauxt]

I 2nd the Airmaster 77 recommended by Lizzie. Have been using one for years. Cheap gun, lightweight, accurate and you get to choose how much force you need with amount of pumps. Only need to try different pellets to determine which one it likes.

[Lizzie]

I 2nd the Airmaster 77 recommended by Lizzie. Have been using one for years. Cheap gun, lightweight, accurate and you get to choose how much force you need with amount of pumps. Only need to try different pellets to determine which one it likes.

I just use the CPHP's from Walmart, and have never even tried any other pellet- accurate as can be!

[John Miller]

If you can add a photo or tell us exactly what kind of housing, porch and entrance, we probably can advise on simple modification to better restrict the starlings while still admitting martins. John M

[Archer]

What is the distance from the porch to the bottom of the entrance. Anything more than 1/4 inch will make it easier for starlings to enter. You can make your entrance more starling proof by building up the porch level to 1/4 inch or less from the bottom of the entrance.

[Ransom Graham]

I had crescent entrance holes on my gourds several years ago and had same problem. Re- worked all my gourds with Excluder plates from PMCA and never had problem again. I am trying to start a new colony at my new home and purchased the new Excluder ll plastic gourds and a few natural gourds with the Excluder plates. Starlings have come around but leave with a sore neck in short order. A many of Martin's lives have been saved by these entrance holes.

[robndebby]

I have a small BB gun I got at Walmart. Pump it 10 times and it works okay. I have shot two Starlings with it. Brought them to the ground but they weren't dead, so head to shoot them again. Mine just says Grizzly on the side but will look at Walmart for the one you are talking about I do think with the Super Gourds we have, if you hit one, it would definitely put a hole in it. We shoot from about 100 feet away.

We have porches on the gourds and they are exactly 1/4" down from the opening. The porches go on the inside also. I'm attaching a photo of our setup but that big cedar tree next to them is no longer there. Straight line winds took it down over the winter but the tree never bothered the Martins at all. I may go with the excluders, might order them later today. I can at least try them.

[robndebby]

I added a picture, do any of you guys see it? I don't. I must be doing something wrong.

[BillieJR]

No - I do not see any picture.

[TheSmiths]

I added a picture, do any of you guys see it? I don't. I must be doing something wrong.

Check the size of the pic as it may be too large. 640x480 pixels tends to be a good size for most forums. If you still can't get it to load let me know and I'll post some instructions.

[starling shooter]

Get a nest box trap and the spring loaded wire trap. Hang under pole and bait with feathers.

You will catch every sparrow and statling in the neighborhood.

The best box trap - just place near trees or buildings.

I would not even see starlings grazing in neighborhood- caught them all.

[handyman315]

Not an air rifle expert, other than an old guy user my entire life. Safety is always the first and last concern; beyond that for "small work", think Sparrows in close proximity to valuable housing, accuracy is everything. Air rifles come in many varieties, but the accuracy breaks down (no pun intended) when splitting the mechanism into three major (not all) categories:

1) Pump up. Very accurate due to less moving, and lighter weight, internal parts. Often the least expensive. Sometimes thought of as an "old guy pellet gun" . . . yes, I have one of the very early Benjamins.

2) Break down. Usually one "pump" - one break of the barrel - provides all the pressure necessary. Very INaccurate in my experience for "small work". Yes, I have one . . . one of the more expensive ones. Hate it for Sparrow work. More common today than pump ups. Reasonably priced.

3) Gas chargeables. Extremely accurate. Come in a million varieties. Want one.

Briefly, it's NOT the cocking mechanism that causes the inaccuracy, it's the moving parts that release the pressure . . . at that very instant when precision is everything, i.e., when you pull the trigger. Heck, you can FEEL the break downs shake.

Other than safety, noise can be a problem in neighborhoods, e.g., my Benjamin is too loud for frequent, unnoticed shooting even in a rural neighborhood.

Sighting/scopes? My Benjamin (I) would be way less accurate with open sights. Scope for me is essential. Even with a scope, range is everything. At 75 feet I'm well over 90%. At 100 - 150 feet - 50%. Caliber? I like the smaller .177; not trying to "knock down" anything. "Burning" other less harmful animals - NO! Even with a light pump, these pellets can penetrate, especially soft "belly" areas. It's cruel; we're animal lovers, that's why we're landlords. Don't do it.

Hitting unintended PM housing? Better not do it with my Benjamin. Last year I shot the end off my S&K barn porch-perch! Shoot thru or break a plastic gourd? Close range, eight pumps? . . . uh . . . better not try it!

Happy - & Safe - Hunting. Air rifles are not for children!