Hunting Starlings?

pintaildrake

New member
Hey gents,

How many of yall actively hunt starlings? They have always been on my hit list. My brothers and I use to shoots 100's of them every weekend when they went to roost. Have any of yall ever used starling decoys? Do you make your own starling decoys? I've had several friends clean and cook them, and have raved about how they turned out. I just like to shoot them myself.

I did find last year, you could call them using my FoxPro. That made for some interesting shoots. It's getting pretty close to time to see the massive flocks of them in my area, with crops coming out of the fields I'm noticing more every day.
 
Don’t ‘hunt’ them , but blast a lot of em off our farm buildings. I’ve told people the breasts are good sized and look edible. Maybe sometime I’ll try em.

Would like to hear about the calling. What sound?
 
Originally Posted By: pintaildrake

I've had several friends clean and cook them, and have raved about how they turned out


Cats and dogs won't even eat them. That's a good enough reason not to as far as I'm concerned.

But yeah, I love plinking at them and flock shooting them every chance I get.
 
Starlings are a Dirty Bird and an invasive species. They won't be on my menu, just in my sights.

Starlings carry a host of diseases, many transferable to livestock, but several that can infect humans. ... Starling droppings, like those of many other, may contain histoplasmosis fungus. Histoplasmosis is a disease affecting the lungs that can be fatal if left untreated.Mar 22, 2011

The European Starling transmits five bacterial diseases including Salmonellosis, fungal diseases, blastonycosis, and histoplasmosis. They also carry the protozoan disease toxoplasmosis and chlamydiosis. Starlings spread fowl pox to poultry, swing gastroenteritis tapeworms and other livestock diseases.

https://www.creaturecontrol.net/starlings-and-their-diseases/
 
I'd have to be pretty close to starving to death before I ate a starling. But if you say they are good, I'll just take your word for it.
 
I hunt them on my suet feeders. As stated they are an invasive species. Of course they are a hoot to shoot too. I use an RWS airgun because I'm in the 'burbs. My Dachshund loves to retrieve them or give them the coup de gras. It's an absolute blast for me and the dog. (He's a killer!!)
 
I also snipe them off my feeders with my RWS. An average year will produce 250-300 kills. I have a sniper's nest set up 50' away. I've had many three for one shots when they mob the suet. A couple years ago, I had a grey fox come in and pick up dead birds while I was there. She would grab two or three at a time. Too cool.
 
Originally Posted By: tripod3Starlings are a Dirty Bird and an invasive species. They won't be on my menu, just in my sights.

Starlings carry a host of diseases, many transferable to livestock, but several that can infect humans. ... Starling droppings, like those of many other, may contain histoplasmosis fungus. Histoplasmosis is a disease affecting the lungs that can be fatal if left untreated.Mar 22, 2011

The European Starling transmits five bacterial diseases including Salmonellosis, fungal diseases, blastonycosis, and histoplasmosis. They also carry the protozoan disease toxoplasmosis and chlamydiosis. Starlings spread fowl pox to poultry, swing gastroenteritis tapeworms and other livestock diseases.

https://www.creaturecontrol.net/starlings-and-their-diseases/

Good read: thanks!
 
Wow, no joke. Nasty things.

Common starlings are hosts to a wide range of parasites. A survey of three hundred common starlings from six US states found that all had at least one type of parasite; 99% had external fleas, mites or ticks, and 95% carried internal parasites, mostly various types of worm. Blood-sucking species leave their host when it dies, but other external parasites stay on the corpse. A bird with a deformed bill was heavily infested with Mallophaga lice, presumably due to its inability to remove vermin.[71]

Parasitic mite
Dermanyssus gallinae, a parasite of the common starling
The hen flea (Ceratophyllus gallinae) is the most common flea in their nests.[72] The small, pale house-sparrow flea C. fringillae, is also occasionally found there and probably arises from the habit of its main host of taking over the nests of other species. This flea does not occur in the US, even on house sparrows.[73] Lice include Menacanthus eurystemus, Brueelia nebulosa and Stumidoecus sturni. Other arthropod parasites include Ixodes ticks and mites such as Analgopsis passerinus, Boydaia stumi, Dermanyssus gallinae, Ornithonyssus bursa, O. sylviarum, Proctophyllodes species, Pteronyssoides truncatus and Trouessartia rosteri.[74] The hen mite D. gallinae is itself preyed upon by the predatory mite Androlaelaps casalis. The presence of this control on numbers of the parasitic species may explain why birds are prepared to reuse old nests.[75]

Flying insects that parasitise common starlings include the louse-fly Omithomya nigricornis[74] and the saprophagous fly Camus hemapterus. The latter species breaks off the feathers of its host and lives on the fats produced by growing plumage.[76] Larvae of the moth Hofmannophila pseudospretella are nest scavengers, which feed on animal material such as faeces or dead nestlings.[77] Protozoan blood parasites of the genus Haemoproteus have been found in common starlings,[78] but a better known pest is the brilliant scarlet nematode Syngamus trachea. This worm moves from the lungs to the trachea and may cause its host to suffocate. In Britain, the rook and the common starling are the most infested wild birds.[79] Other recorded internal parasites include the spiny-headed worm Prosthorhynchus transverses.[80]

Common starlings may contract avian tuberculosis,[81][82] avian malaria[83][84] and retrovirus-induced lymphomas.[85] Captive starlings often accumulate excess iron in the liver, a condition that can be prevented by adding black tea-leaves to the food.[86][87]
 
Boy they are a nasty dirty bird.

I use to remove a lot of them out of a
Maple tree that was in front of the garage.

Used a Beeman R-1 air rifle for the task.

I miss that Maple tree, had a lot of fun times
looking up through its branches.

I drove by there a handful years ago, poop on
the garage wall and on the car that was in the
drive way.

Bet they wish they had a good air rifle
 
I try when out pigeon plinking with my airgun, but the dang starlings are vary wary and usually fly off before I can get in range. I am going to try the starling in distress call.
 
I like a heavy target or upland load in 6 or 7.5 shot. Ive sniped a few this past week in the tree tops from my third floor bedroom in the log house. .22 Mag 30 gr VMAX sticks it to em.
 
I snipe them off the feeders with my RWS air gun as well. Any cripples are ruthlessly crushed by my killer Dachshund, who loves to track and catch them. Ha I didn't realize I had already posted on this earlier!!!!
 
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Originally Posted By: Zastava223remI like a heavy target or upland load in 6 or 7.5 shot.
When I was young growing up at home, I would catch them in a field or tree tops and try to line them up to get as many as possible with one shot from a 12 guage. Most I remember getting with one shot was 9. The most fun, however, was waiting in the snow at an old hog pen and snipping them with a 22 when they would fly in. I have always liked snipping starlings - crows too.
 
Whow! Does this bring back great memories! My best friend growing up, Bob Lamb, since passed. He used to use an old double barrel 12 gage. He loved to sneak up on them and give them one shot on the ground and another as they took off in a cloud. It used to rain Starlings! Brings a smile to my face!
 
Always a fun time when the starlings start looking for nesting cavities. Got these 5 and 4 more fell back into the holes. Rifle is a Tika T1X

starling1.jpg
 
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Originally Posted By: wickaAlways a fun time when the starlings start looking for nesting cavities. Got these 5 and 4 more fell back into the holes. Rifle is a Tika T1X

starling1.jpg


Hope you can wear that Tikka out shooting starlings.
Oh they have a sense when being reduced and lay more clutches to compensate.
 
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