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Mia, John, Abby, Johny C
Villages Of Bear Creek, TX, USA
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Unlike most people, I love starlings! They are colorful and fun to watch. It’s exciting to have them visit. It’s sad that people don’t like birds like European Starlings, House sparrows, Rock Pigeons, Muscovy Ducks, Canada Geese, seagulls, Cowbirds, and other birds and they feel the need to kill, trap, poison, chase, and destroy their nest, eggs and young. ðŸ˜ðŸ˜¢
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The Starlings Are Here!!!
Well,some of them are non-native & some are native.
No birds should have to be killed, trapped, poisoned, chased, and destroyed and have people destroy nests, eggs and young. It’s cruel and wrong to have innocent birds die for no reason.
And ILEGAL!
I don’t care if they’re native or not. I like all birds.
Me to.
I understand your point of view, it is sad that they get killed, but they can also take over nesting sites of native birds, hurting their population. Also, here in Arkansas and everywhere else in the US, including Texas, it is legal.
Blue jays, crows, raptors, cats, raccoons, and other animals destroy birds’ nests too and they are protected. Blue Jays eat baby birds, eggs, and adult birds. Some of the doves we have here are really mean too. I like all birds so I’m glad when I see any bird.
I will say that’s a good point, but my counterargument is that those animals are protected because they are native (most of them at least). They have lived here for hundreds of years and they are important contributors to ecosystem health. European Starlings are not needed here as they are not native and could harm ecosystems and/or other animal populations. Also, they damage fruit and grain crops, bully other birds from feeders, and spread diseases.
The only exception to my argument is cats, which are not native to North America and if they are pets, then (if possible) they should be kept inside.
House Sparrows and European starlings have been here for over 200 years.
Actually the Starlings were introduced in the 1890’s, so that’s only about 130 years. House Sparrows were introduced into Brooklyn, New York in 1851 so only 171 years.
Only the doves bully other doves and the squirrels are really mean and chase the birds for fun. The sparrows and starlings don’t hurt any of our backyard birds.
Also, I’m unsure if they will EAT adult birds, but they will kill them. On the Blue Jay Overview by the Cornell Lab, it states, “Blue Jays are known to take and eat eggs and nestlings of other birds, but we don’t know how common this is. In an extensive study of Blue Jay feeding habits, only 1% of jays had evidence of eggs or birds in their stomachs. Most of their diet was composed of insects and nuts.” So it is pretty uncommon for them to eat eggs or nestlings.
Crows eat eggs.
So do the Starlings
They aren’t protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act since they are an exotic species.
For example, a couple of years ago someone posted here on Nestwatch that a Starling was trying to enter its cavity. They can sometimes be pretty harmful to native bird populations.
I just realized I messed up the wording on my last comment. I meant that a few years ago someone posted that a European Starling was trying to enter a Red-Bellied Woodpecker’s cavity.
I read about that yesterday. The woodpecker almost always wins. Also, the Starlings need a home too.
I’ve been really wanting starlings to visit since I like them and they are so colorful and cute.
Also, Starlings eat mice and rats… and Blue Jays eat adult birds.
Blue Jays are very important to the ecosystem, they store their food which helps spread certain species of trees. Also, they are known to mob larger birds such as hawks, which helps protect the smaller birds that are around them. Next, the adult birds that they do rarely eat are most likely dying or already dead.
European Starlings can do a lot of damage to vegetable crops when they eat the shoots and/or leaves. They too eat bird eggs and baby birds. Also, since they fly in such large flocks, they can be hit by planes or other flying machines. I understand that they are beautiful, crafty, and very intelligent, but I want you to understand that sometimes it is necessary to control their population to keep the ecosystem in balance.
Ava
I just like all birds so I want to attract them to our yard. Its not the birds’ fault they are here so they shouldn’t have to suffer for the people’s “mistake”
I agree with you. I believe that if there is a non-lethal way to manage their population or deter them then that’s what should be done. I also believe that removing their nest is fine, but I personally could never bring myself to harm the eggs or babies. I just looked at their info on the Bird Guide and apparently their species is in decline now. It’s funny that they like popcorn. Do any other birds that come to your house like popcorn?
Mockingbirds
Also, I don’t understand why House Sparrows aren’t considered native because they’ve been here since 1870 and that was 151 years ago.
Well, House Sparrows were introduced to the US by people. It is actually native to Eurasia and Northern Africa, it was introduced to control insect populations. After a while, its population just kept on growing and now it is considered an invasive species.
In our yard, the doves are really mean. We’ve never had problems with any birds.
I don’t like the house sparrows because they don’t build a nest & they take over other bird’s nests
House Sparrows do build nest, I think you are thinking of Brown-Headed Cowbird which are protected and it is illegal to mess with them
I saw a House Sparrow nest yesterday.
Yeah, House Sparrows do build nests. They also do take over other bird’s nests.
Domestic animals aren’t native.
maybe 56 comments.
What?
What?
We are at 38.
I mean 42.
WHAT?
What for what.
I do like rock pigeons, muscovy ducks, Canada geese, seagulls and I like almost every bird than that
So you like Muscovy ducks?
I do like every bird(every one is my favorite,so don’t ask me what bird is my favorite).
We like all birds so I don’t mind what bird we see or feed.
That’s what I’m thinking of, a brown headed cowbird.
Do you like Cowbirds?
Not as much.
I thought you liked all birds?