Barn full of starlings

[longislandhunter]

With so many starlings at this facility I don't think you'll have to even bother using bait.  Once that rope is up I have no doubt that birds will start perching on it almost immediately. 

Jeff

[StarlingChaser]

With so many starlings at this facility I don't think you'll have to even bother using bait.  Once that rope is up I have no doubt that birds will start perching on it almost immediately. 

Ya I think you are right. There are tall powerlines about 1/2 mile away and they go back and forth. I just don`t have permission to shoot the powerlines. they run through a private field. Starlings can not resist a high perch near where they want to be.
Jeff

[StarlingChaser]

Just to update for the few that are following. I have been working so much I have not done anything yet. I will update when I do. I have a new idea but I will explain if I get the OK.

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Just to update for the few that are following. I have been working so much I have not done anything yet. I will update when I do. I have a new idea but I will explain if I get the OK.

Chuck...We'll be waiting for your next up-date !  This is interesting.    Best Wishes - Tom

[obijohn]

That's what I love about my Daystate Air Wolf MVT... I can dial the power back to around 700 fps out of the muzzle and use bismuth pellets. At the ranges you have inside those barns it's plenty enough and the nontoxic pellets just shatter when they hit metal... no chance of penetrating the roof or poisoning the livestock.

You might want to look into an inexpensive Daisy or Crosman air rifle with a lower muzzle velocity, and as was suggested demo the performance/penetration against a sample of the roof with nontoxic pellets. That should please everyone except the starlings.

[Hajimoto]

I am very interested in watching this unfold. A perch cable sounds like the best bet, though the white sheet sounds very good as well.
Thanks for sharing and I have this one on my "To watch" list.

[Tater]

Looking forward to your results Chuck.

[StarlingChaser]

OK I came up with a new idea and talked to the owner of the farm and showed him my prototype and he is good with it. I came home after talking to him and made everything I need to do the job and will be putting it up Sunday morning. I just could not get past all those birds going in and out of the opening in the roof and how nice it would be to just be able to shoot them when they sit on the edge of that opening so my idea was to run a rope 12" above the center of that opening. I would be able to shoot them and drop them right through the roof. Thanks to the hawks I don`t have to worry about a few that land on the roof, they have learned there is a free meal. So my idea was to get some beam flange clamps and make some risers for the rope to go through. I worked for a heavy metal fabricator for 15 years in the past and am a weld tech/trainer now so that helps. I took a few pics of what I am doing. I clamped an angle in the vice at the  angle that matches the roof channels in the barn so I can show how it works. I am going to do 200' for now. The barn is 900' long.

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

Wow...Chuck....sounds like a very good plan !     I'll be interested in seeing how this all works out !     Good Thinking ! 

Best Wishes & Happy Hunting - Tom

[uglymike]

Follow them to where they roost, ask permission there. Then go there at night with something very quiet.......it'll be rainin' starlings.

[StarlingChaser]

OK I did go out to put up my rope idea but at the angle I would be at I was not happy with the height so I brought everything home to make them taller so still on hold. As far as where they roost I do know where that is. Fortunately for me I live very close to one of the biggest roosting areas for hundreds of miles. It is mind blowing how many redwings come here. Not thousands but millions. They come in lines 10 miles long in the evenings from all directions. First I DO NOT shoot redwings! but all the black birds roost together. There is a mix of redwings, starlings, grackles, and lots of cow birds also. The reason is the huge expanses of past coal mine grounds. There are lots of pits but there are way more low areas that stay wet most of the time. These areas are covered with cat tails and reed beds. Some of these reed beds can be 20 acres for just one bed. There is absolutely no trespassing, people do but at their own risk. The birds literally dive bomb from flight to the middle areas of the reeds. The starlings are the minority among the masses. If you guys are interested I can take a video some time of this when I get time. All I have is my phone but it should do OK. If you get caught shooting out there you loose everything, your gun, vehicle, etc. What ever you have with you. They don`t have to but they can. Here is a link I just found that looks just like what they do but the reeds here are much denser More updates to come for all the other research junkies like me.

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

I watched the video.  Wow Chuck...That's a lot of birds !       Best Wishes & Happy Starling Hunting - Tom

[Fozzy49]

The problem you've got is the fact they flock in such big numbers, so therefore there are thousands of eyes everywhere. Starlings are very clever as you will know and don't managed to get flocks of thousands by being stupid. Even if you manage to get them to land where you want you will get one starling and then the lot will go. They soon learn that something isn't right and will land elsewhere so it turns into a cat and mouse sinario.
Do they roost in a nearby tree where you can shoot them a dusk. Ok, you will still have the same thing happening but they'll not see you as easy and may not add 2 and 2 together.
Good luck with it buddy.

[StarlingChaser]

The problem you've got is the fact they flock in such big numbers, so therefore there are thousands ands of eyes everywhere. Starlings are very clever as you will know and don't managed to get flocks of thousands by being stupid. Even if you manage to get them to land where you want you will get one starling and then the lot will go. They soon learn that something isn't right and will land elsewhere so it turns into a cat and mouse sinario.
Do they roost in a nearby tree where you can shoot them a dusk. Ok, you will still have the same thing happening but they'll not see you as easy and may not add 2 and 2 together.
Good luck with it buddy.


You are so right. If someone has not shot these things as we have you would not know how smart they are. They learn fast. I use different cover, inside a truck,
 in a blind, etc. One trick is to move even if you can not shoot you can bang on something or just scare them. They do not know one from the other so it keeps them moving around. They are so honed in to this place they always return.If you can keep them moving some will land in the wrong place. Winter will make them braver!

[A.K.A. Tommy Boy]

The problem you've got is the fact they flock in such big numbers, so therefore there are thousands ands of eyes everywhere. Starlings are very clever as you will know and don't managed to get flocks of thousands by being stupid. Even if you manage to get them to land where you want you will get one starling and then the lot will go. They soon learn that something isn't right and will land elsewhere so it turns into a cat and mouse sinario.
Do they roost in a nearby tree where you can shoot them a dusk. Ok, you will still have the same thing happening but they'll not see you as easy and may not add 2 and 2 together.
Good luck with it buddy.


You are so right. If someone has not shot these things as we have you would not know how smart they are. They learn fast. I use different cover, inside a truck,
 in a blind, etc. One trick is to move even if you can not shoot you can bang on something or just scare them. They do not know one from the other so it keeps them moving around. They are so honed in to this place they always return.If you can keep them moving some will land in the wrong place. Winter will make them braver!

.  SMART !

[Cahil_2]

At my dairy permission I shoot most where they put the manure.

[StarlingChaser]

Sorry for no updates but I leave for work at 4:45 AM and get home at 6:30 PM and have been working most Saturdays. Ya not much time to shoot but I did get in 3 days over Thanksgiving. I got the rope up 7 days before I went back to shoot. Had to do it at 9:00 at night but they leave lights on most of the night. These birds do not like change. Some landed on it for a few minutes but not much. There is a small depression that holds water just a couple feet wide that they love to fly down to and get a bath. It is in taller weeds so I can not see them to shoot them there so I placed a few things that they could perch on just above the weeds and I`ll be ______ if they never used it again after that. After a couple days I removed everything to see if they would use it again and sure enough they did. I think they will use the rope more as it is there longer. I did get access to the power lines that they fly back and forth from and that worked really good! I set my blind up pretty far away so they did not spook. With my scope set on 16 power I got about 70 of them. They use it pretty heavy in the morning but not to much after that. If they did it would have been unreal. I love the long range shots! I took a few pics. The one is looking out of my blind over my tripod at the power lines with a couple birds on it. If any of you have looked into a tripod this Primos Gen 3 Trigger Stick is the best shooting aid I have ever used. You can hold so steady with it, especially if you are sitting down. I carry it everywhere I go with my gun. OK I have to admit I have shot a couple off the roof peak under the rope when no one is looking. They were on the rope and that is my story, lol.

[Tater]

Man that looks like some fun shooting Chuck. A good challenge and good for the farm too.