Thank You Starlings for motivating me!

[Fred Kaluza~MI]

'Twas three days post Christmas and daybreak was quiet,
from somewhere however came sounds of a riot.
I drew back the blinds and through drizzle did see,
about fifty-five Starlings all looking at me.
I loaded my gun and then lifted the sash,
about to knock stuffing from that noisy trash.

When near the driveway I looked and did see,
the unfinished V-trap begun in '03.
Fearing my gas bill I let the pane down,
and decided right then to first trap and then drown.

The thoughts in my head did compel me to action,
though rain, snow and ice would do nothing for traction.
I stood in the yard now with tools in my hand
as northward bound Martins crossed Florida sand.

Though the wintery Michigan sky was quite gray.
the thought of some Martins was making my day!
I owed these fine fellows the best of my skills
and decided for Starlings no more single kills.

By evening my stockings were getting real wet,
with top sections finished but no sides done yet.
I know that this weekend the trap will be done,
and I'll bag those Starlings using both trap AND gun!


But seriously now...This dreary holiday week began with lots of snow on the ground and it's been nothing but sloppy temps around 36F and drizzle outside. The snow has evidently caused the Starlings to decend en-mass on any patch of open ground in search of anything edible. Up here, suet cakes placed for native birds are the number one target for them. These kinds of conditions are probably best for collecting large numbers of Starlings and the V-trap is said to be very effective. I eagerly look forward to making good use of something I began a while back. Meanwhile, my Troyer repeating trap has collected 3 Starlings in this past week. Could the minute lenthening of days since Dec 21'st be enough to drive them to seek nesting cavities already? Maybe this will be my year...Fred in Michigan

[CUL Lou~Mich]

Fred. I caught one of the pests about 10 days or so ago, in a UST placed in a North Star. It was quite cold that night, and I figured it'd went in for shelter. Well, it's sheltered now, with at least a weeks worth of garbage over it. ha ha. Oh ya, and a few days prior to that, there was one busily feasting on a suet cake, while its partner looked on. Must be it's partner didn't see me gently slide the window open, nor the pellet gun barrel slide through. It DID however hear the pop, and see the first one drop to the ground. Unfortunately, the partner escaped, and is still at large, its whereabouts unknown. CUL Lou

[Guest]

Fred, too funny!!!

Good luck with the V-Trap. I want to make one and haven't got around to it. Let us know how yours works.

Are you using PVC or wire panels?

[Fred Kaluza~MI]

Lou, I agree, the darn things are true pests year round! I had another in the repeating trap this morning! Hogwild, this thing I've built is made of galvanized angle iron and galvanized hardware-cloth. Assembly of the frame and the "door" section was a breeze using a hacksaw, some more galvanized nuts & bolts, a couple hinges and a pair of ratchets with sockets. My method for attaching the screen could probably be improved on. I've been using some scrap insulated wire and kind of wrapping or lacing it through the holes and around the mesh holes in the hardware cloth. It feels a lot like making a fishing net or something. I think it will last a long time though. I'll insert a couple pics here later. Fred

[Guest]

Fred; What a great poem. The talent on the forum is inspiring. Keep it up.
Have a Great Day- Jim