I saw a Starling get in my clinger ultimate tunnel

James A Lenz · Thu May 03, 2018 9:32 am

Help what do i do? Will the starling give me a shot at him while he is building or be Wiley like sparrows?

James A Lenz · Thu May 03, 2018 10:34 am

James A Lenz wrote:Help what do i do? Will the starling give me a shot at him while he is building or be Wiley like sparrows?

What if I slide the porch out of the clinger porch slide and super glue it to the top of the slide? Has anyone tried this strategy? This would reduce the clinger entrance by the width of the porch.

Dale D · Thu May 03, 2018 11:23 am

James, I wouldn't be overly concerned since some Starlings that are runt or a little underfed can breach most any SREH if the Starling is determined enough. We all need to keep in mind that SREH is (Starling Resistant Entrance Hole) not Starling Proof otherwise they would be labeled SPEH (Starling Proof Entrance Hole.) Trap or shoot the Starling in question if you can and hopefully you won't have another breach anytime soon. If you do you may want to see if the Clinger entrance has been compromised in some way making it less resistant.

James A Lenz · Thu May 03, 2018 11:50 am

Dale D wrote:James, I wouldn't be overly concerned since some Starlings that are runt or a little underfed can breach most any SREH if the Starling is determined enough. We all need to keep in mind that SREH is (Starling Resistant Entrance Hole) not Starling Proof otherwise they would be labeled SPEH (Starling Proof Entrance Hole.) Trap or shoot the Starling in question if you can and hopefully you won't have another breach anytime soon. If you do you may want to see if the Clinger entrance has been compromised in some way making it less resistant.

I can’t imagine the clinger has been compromise as I have witnessed no continuous attention by any starlings in the particular gourd. The starling was a male with the yellow beak which makes me wonder if his mate could breach it or not. Whether not the starlings could build the one that breached could destroy all the Martin eggs to eliminate competition. That is what scares me as my Martins are due to start laying any day.

Emil Pampell-Tx · Thu May 03, 2018 3:48 pm

I have only heard of a couple times when a startling entered that entrance, it is probably the best entrance on the market, so shoot or trap the undersized starling. Early in the season, some starlings are very small.

James A Lenz · Fri May 04, 2018 7:10 am

Emil Pampell-Tx wrote:I have only heard of a couple times when a startling entered that entrance, it is probably the best entrance on the market, so shoot or trap the undersized starling. Early in the season, some starlings are very small.

THANKYOU my friend I will try. He had a very hard time getting into the tunnel actually failing the first couple of times. He then seemed to force his sternum down to be able to squeeze in but it seemed to take all his might.I did not see him yesterday afternoon after work so maybe it was just a curiousity on the birds part. If he shows up again I’ll have my 410 ready. I’m thinking if he decides to build I’ll get a shot on him as I sit out with my birds all afternoon after work most days. A starling is too bold to let a mere human scare him off from building his nest. Also even if he decides to build his mate may not be able to get into the gourd so that would stop it immiately.

-=DKC=- · Fri May 04, 2018 9:23 am

James A Lenz wrote:
Emil Pampell-Tx wrote:I have only heard of a couple times when a startling entered that entrance, it is probably the best entrance on the market, so shoot or trap the undersized starling. Early in the season, some starlings are very small.
THANKYOU my friend I will try. He had a very hard time getting into the tunnel actually failing the first couple of times. He then seemed to force his sternum down to be able to squeeze in but it seemed to take all his might.I did not see him yesterday afternoon after work so maybe it was just a curiousity on the birds part. If he shows up again I’ll have my 410 ready. I’m thinking if he decides to build I’ll get a shot on him as I sit out with my birds all afternoon after work most days. A starling is too bold to let a mere human scare him off from building his nest. Also even if he decides to build his mate may not be able to get into the gourd so that would stop it immiately.

You might consider setting up a blind near your colony if you haven't already. I wouldn't be able to get a single House Sparrow without one.

James A Lenz · Fri May 04, 2018 1:09 pm

-=DKC=- wrote:
James A Lenz wrote:
Emil Pampell-Tx wrote:I have only heard of a couple times when a startling entered that entrance, it is probably the best entrance on the market, so shoot or trap the undersized starling. Early in the season, some starlings are very small.
THANKYOU my friend I will try. He had a very hard time getting into the tunnel actually failing the first couple of times. He then seemed to force his sternum down to be able to squeeze in but it seemed to take all his might.I did not see him yesterday afternoon after work so maybe it was just a curiousity on the birds part. If he shows up again I’ll have my 410 ready. I’m thinking if he decides to build I’ll get a shot on him as I sit out with my birds all afternoon after work most days. A starling is too bold to let a mere human scare him off from building his nest. Also even if he decides to build his mate may not be able to get into the gourd so that would stop it immiately.
You might consider setting up a blind near your colony if you haven't already. I wouldn't be able to get a single House Sparrow without one.

THANKYOU for the advice I will do that

Lewis · Fri May 04, 2018 5:32 pm

James, Watch the starling. The width and height of the porch is important. If the starling can lay on it's side and put one foot in then it's head and wiggle, pull itself in, it can gain entrance. I would raise and cut the porch, then add a PMCA wing guard (WEP see catalog) over the Clinger sreh. See tips for 2018 season " Wing Guards help stop starlings" or search "Lewis Modification"

Lewis