Does anybody catch and dispatch invasive birds? Starlings?

[zachomega]

The soon to be wifey and i do a lot of bird watching. We've definitely had a serious influx of invasive birds that have started to chase away our song birds.

I just ordered the tomahawk 503 trap.

Has anybody else used this trap? Any tips? It is a funnel trap so i know the birds can get out again if left in there long enough.

I plan to use suet and peanuts to catch them. They aren't particularly bright. I've caught them in rat traps before. They are greedy.

-Zach

[buxbandit]

Starlings go away if you don't feed them. Try switching to safflower seed and nyjer seed feeders. Your trap will likely catch as many desirable ground birds as it does starlings and grackles.

[Walleye Hunter]

My cats aren't picky, they'll eat any bird.

[zachomega]

Starlings go away if you don't feed them. Try switching to safflower seed and nyjer seed feeders. Your trap will likely catch as many desirable ground birds as it does starlings and grackles.

The problem is, all birds go away if you don't feed them.

They've chased away everything. They eat everything. I've seen them eating nyjer seeds daily. Safflower too. I've even seen squirrels eat it when there was sunflower available.

The 503 is not a kill trap. So you can release song birds pretty easily. I would never set it out and not be home to monitor it.

And starlings going away just puts the problem at somebody else's doorstep. No laws protecting them and they are fair game to kill year round.

-Zach

[McSull]

Invasive as in non native? Or native to the area, but undesirable?

[zachomega]

Invasive as in non native? Or native to the area, but undesirable?

Invasive as in non native. Particularly starlings. But i know sparrows are also another common one that people catch.

-Zach

[buxbandit]

The problem is, all birds go away if you don't feed them.

They've chased away everything. They eat everything. I've seen them eating nyjer seeds daily. Safflower too. I've even seen squirrels eat it when there was sunflower available.

The 503 is not a kill trap. So you can release song birds pretty easily. I would never set it out and not be home to monitor it.

And starlings going away just puts the problem at somebody else's doorstep. No laws protecting them and they are fair game to kill year round.

-Zach

They can't eat safflower, the beaks are too soft and the shells are too hard. Perhaps you're using a mix?
My feeders are always busy, zero starlings.

[McSull]

Can't you just shoot them with a decent pellet gun, or .22 with colibris?

[Delkal]

Seems kind of pricey to catch a few starlings. Just use some crab traps instead.

[zachomega]

They can't eat safflower, the beaks are too soft and the shells are too hard. Perhaps you're using a mix?
My feeders are always busy, zero starlings.

They definitely like the suet and nyjer the best. I've seen them around the safflower, but maybe they were just scaring off the other birds as they like to do.

Can't you just shoot them with a decent pellet gun, or .22 with colibris?

Pellet gun. Sure. But i only shoot when they are on the ground (very suburban neighborhood) and one shot sends them all scattering whether i hit or not. If they are in a trap, it is a lot easier to deal with multiple birds at once.

-Zach