Brown headed cowbirds?

[Dr. Kralenstein]

I'm the law in my yard.

Yep pretty much. Remember the 3 S rule. Shoot shovel shut up.

 

[Firewalker]

So if the bird is just hanging around and you think it will commit depredations, you can shoot them?

It's kind of like the police can just think you have intent to do something so they just start blasting...

Or the 3 letter org who can say you have intent to make an SBR solely because you own an extra rifle stock that could be attached to a pistol.


Interpretation of the law is so vague lol.

or about to commit depredations

 

[Dr. Kralenstein]

or about to commit depredations

Correct. I'll just remember to tell the law man " hey I asked him if he was going to commit any depredations, and he laughed and said YEAH BUDDY!"

I think the whole protection act is a joke anyways. Even if everyone started blasting them, there would be an endless supply of devil birds to shoot.

 

[Firewalker]

My best buddy and I were squirrel hunting WAY back in the 1980's when a CO approached, asking us what we were hunting. The conversation drifted to crow and since they were not in season at that time, we discussed depredation when he told us, "You can shoot crows if they are doing crop damage, going to do crop damage or returning from doing crop damage. See that one, he's going to do crop damage and see that one? He's returning from crop damage."

 

[Joedirt199]

Dad had me shooting them off his bird feeders and they start to get used to you and keep their distance. I had to hide in the back of the truck, under a car port 30 yards away so they would feel comfortable at the feeders.

 

[huntr]

So I've noticed a huge uptick in this particular species in my area. They get me sometimes thinking they're a grackle. The water drip call they make gives them away.

Anyhow, I had to look these up because they were never around here before a couple years ago, and their numbers are growing.

These are fair game to pop if they're a nuisance like grackles, right?

In my state, you can shoot ‘blackbirds’ which include … grackles, starlings, cowbirds, and red wing blackbirds. They all flock together at certain times of the year, numbering in the hundreds of millions.
One of those times is during the fall deer season and just after sunrise you can’t hear a deer crack a branch right under your stand as the huge flocks leave the roost. PS… don’t look up.

 

[cahil_2]

Protected in Michigan.

 

[cra627]

Protected in Michigan.

Unfortunately, true

 

[JohnL57]

not in alabama, i guess mine are REDNECK cowbirds...........

Sounds like cattle egrets

 

[L.Leon]

Look like this. Basically a grackle that has a finch style beak... and apparently shoved it's head up a cows ass.

View attachment 454000

LOL, almost choked on my beer gulp… simply funny…

 

[airgunmike56]

There protected here in Texas BUT.............
I always shoot in self defence , Them birds are big in TEXAS.
Mike

 

[DaMitch]

Shoot every cowbird you can. They lay their eggs in song birds nests and just leave them. The babies grow so much faster and require more food so the baby song birds die. They don't stand a chance in my yard.

PEP3 is spot on re cowbirds. Take them out

 

[Firewalker]

PEP3 is spot on re cowbirds. Take them out

I live next to a huge wilderness management area and the conservation officers travel our road for access to it.

One shot at the wrong time and I'd loose my guns. I'll play by the rules.

 

[Contndr35BB]

Look like this. Basically a grackle that has a finch style beak... and apparently shoved it's head up a cows ass.

View attachment 454000

Here in PA , all birds & game/fur, are protected or game except for English house sparrows, European Starlings , and Pigeons . And Sparrows & Starlings can't be shot around deer season. Crows are game w/ seasons also .

 

[beerthief]

the "cowbirds" here on the coast of Alabama are large, completely white birds with long legs
that tend to be around cattle and sometimes they perch on cattle and pick the ticks and bugs off of them.
there not in overly abundance here and never have been i know of in over 60 years.
my cows dont mind them and they dont crap on there feed or hay. so there ok here on my farm.
also i do think they are protected here.
maybe we are talking about different cowbird species ?

cattle egrets, Egrets are a totally different bird , cowbirds are small looks like a black bird and makes a sound like dripping water .

 

[Contndr35BB]

My best buddy and I were squirrel hunting WAY back in the 1980's when a CO approached, asking us what we were hunting. The conversation drifted to crow and since they were not in season at that time, we discussed depredation when he told us, "You can shoot crows if they are doing crop damage, going to do crop damage or returning from doing crop damage. See that one, he's going to do crop damage and see that one? He's returning from crop damage."

True , when isn't a crow going to ,coming from or in the act of crop damage or depredation ? Several years ago my wife & young son & I witnessed two crows harass and eventually take out a mockingbird from the air in the yard across the street. They watched in disbelief as the pair worked in harmony to repeatedly pummel the mockingbird until defenseless , then started to feed off of it. As a farm kid , I knew as soon as my Dad planted corn my brothers & I hunted crows to hang a few on tall posts throughout the field to repel them or they would pick a lot of seedlings .Now that it's common for farmers to bag silage & wrap hay bales ,crows destroy much of that wrapping by pecking holes in the bag or wrap ,just as they would tear open garbage bags.

 

[maxtrouble]

Cowbirds, HOSPs, starlings and grackles are all pest species. They get no quarter from me. They chase away all the song birds and eat all the bird seed. Shoot, shovel, shut up.

 

[Pfddi]

I managed to get 2 starlings and a cow bird within 5 minutes and they ended DRT within 1 foot of each other! The cow bird dropped in to see the first starling and after he dropped, the next starling came in for a look. All at 24 yards with a .177 Wolverine R. I would also get rid of grackles until I found out you can't shoot them in Oklahoma.

 

[Gutterguy]

Shoot every cowbird you can. They lay their eggs in song birds nests and just leave them. The babies grow so much faster and require more food so the baby song birds die. They don't stand a chance in my yard.

I'm a song bird nut, and I did not know that cow birds are a brood parasite..... guess what just got added to my hit list! Thank you for informing me and others, I appreciate it, as do the native songbirds!!

 

[Dr. Kralenstein]

I'm a song bird nut, and I did not know that cow birds are a brood parasite..... guess what just got added to my hit list! Thank you for informing me and others, I appreciate it, as do the native songbirds!!

That's what got me going after grackles and starlings. I already took care of the sparrows since they get into my chicken feed and coop. Once I started seeing how the grackles scared away cardinals and my brown thrasher, I got to work.

Now I have 2 mated pairs of cardinals living in my English ivy/honeysuckle which engulfs my fence. My brown thrasher finally has a mate, and they're always together in my yard.

I wish I didn't have so many robins though! They never sleep I swear!