Pest x Predator Interaction

[centrarchid]

I have a bit of a European Starling problem. Some are getting hung up in netting in the barn.

I had to cut this one out with scissors. Coopers Hawk and possibly a Merlin has been seen trying to catch starlings bouncing of deer netting in barn.


Somebody small caught this starling on the ground and consumed a lot of it.

Bird was ballsy enough to do so even with a group a chickens only a few feet away.

 

[Kessel23]

Starlings can be annoying birds, invasive species. I had trouble with them and my purple martin houses last spring. One time one got up in my dad's art studio, we still have no idea how it got in but boy was he a pain to catch.

 

[centrarchid]

Female American Kestrel. I have also been seeing a male of same plus what I think in a Merlin. Putative Merlin seen only twice and appears to have a leg problem. I need to put out a nest box for the American Kestrels.

She worked on carcass for about 20 minutes before leaving field of view. Carcass was nowhere to be seen when I got home around 5:15 PM.

 

[centrarchid]

Songbirds coming into barn in a big way. We are up to 5" of fresh snow. The natural food supply is in short supply. The songbirds are eating everything the chickens do not eat on the spot. Will switch to feeding two to three times per day with what chickens can clean up in a few minutes. Falcons nowhere to be seen.

 

[Banditbear]

Love those kestrel pics! I sure enjoy seeing them around.

 

[Banditbear]

Speaking of things caught in netting...

Last summer I had that black plastic deer netting around my chicken run. Unfortunately, my cattle just went right through it, and lots of it tore off and fell to the ground at the bottom of my posts. Being lazy, I left it there until I could clean it up. About a week later, I went to do so, and found 3 snakes dead in the mess. I decided to just leave it there... Sure enough, that mesh caught many, many snakes all summer long. Rat snakes and copperheads.

I'm going to put it back around the bottom of my coop and chicken run pretty soon. It'll be interesting to see how many snakes I catch this year.

 

[centrarchid]

Mine catches snakes as well. Plus a Coopers Hawk and briefly a Great-horned Owl. Keeping netting site should keep from entangling critters you do not want catch.

 

[animals1981]

american kestrel kill adult starlings? I did not think that was common considering starlings evict them from nests?

 

[centrarchid]

american kestrel kill adult starlings? I did not think that was common considering starlings evict them from nests?

They kill starlings most often in the winter. Some may specialize on it rather than going after voles and mice. It a battle and not something you want to do with other predators that might also take American Kestrels.

 

[centrarchid]

Kestrel is coming into barn every day. She is allowing me to approach closer before flushing. Starlings are in the barn with her. She is not targeting starlings. She is going after mice mostly. She must have just got lucky on that one starling. She has not gone after the starling carcass I left out for her. She also appears to have little fear of dog penned near where she perches.