New pest outside

[blackdog899]

Woke up late , well early since retirement about 9:30 went for coffee in a haze and saw a crow beneath feeder.
Huhh that ain’t a crow , Starlings!! Sh t wife won’t have any problem with culling them. Thats when I got to the guns
and the Rexy rpa airless, and the next closest the Akela red dot dead.

So question? Are Starlings observant or crow smart ?

 

[dgeesaman]

Yes, very smart.

 

[L.Leon]

Woke up late , well early since retirement about 9:30 went for coffee in a haze and saw a crow beneath feeder.
Huhh that ain’t a crow , Starlings!! Sh t wife won’t have any problem with culling them. Thats when I got to the guns
and the Rexy rpa airless, and the next closest the Akela red dot dead.

So question? Are Starlings observant or crow smart ?

I believe that the pest (starling) was in play, your PCPs? DOA…The starlings will return if you let them get comfortable, now simply git them guns to working… The starling are willing to do their part… Good luck!

 

[SDellinger]

Woke up late , well early since retirement about 9:30 went for coffee in a haze and saw a crow beneath feeder.
Huhh that ain’t a crow , Starlings!! Sh t wife won’t have any problem with culling them. Thats when I got to the guns
and the Rexy rpa airless, and the next closest the Akela red dot dead.

So question? Are Starlings observant or crow smart ?

Very

 

[WorriedMan]

My first rule of pesting, always keep at least one dependably accurate airgun aired up with full mag, less one in chamber. WM

 

[blackdog899]

Thank you, I’ll be ready tomorrow !!

 

[Contndr35BB]

Woke up late , well early since retirement about 9:30 went for coffee in a haze and saw a crow beneath feeder.
Huhh that ain’t a crow , Starlings!! Sh t wife won’t have any problem with culling them. Thats when I got to the guns
and the Rexy rpa airless, and the next closest the Akela red dot dead.

So question? Are Starlings observant or crow smart ?

Blackdog, starlings are trained in tradecraft from several unnamed gov'nt agencies . They can infiltrate almost anywhere, anything. They obviously got into your abode easily now that you've dropped your guard & now lounge around aimlessly ( retired , like me). So they degassed said REX , then exchanged the
battery in the dot sight for a spent one (very sneaky)! Although highly trained and very intelligent, they are considered expendable . So... set that alarm a little
BEFORE 9:30 ,check your weaponry ( preferably the night before ) and have at them sneaky , underhanded , ninja-like oily feathered vermin ! PS , I have been know to remain in the comfort of said sheets & comforter after ...8:55 ,,,, sometimes !! Go Get 'em!

 

[Peashooter]

When starlings have come to rest in my friends tall trees, he take his 5.5 mm break barrel, and fire off 1 blank shot, and BAM they are gone.

A common acquaintance of ours, he have a roosting / nesting problem, the issue is he also have other PPL living near him, so we cant just go do starling slaughter without running the risk of someone getting hurt in the tail pipe and call in officials with no sense of humor.

 

[Putricio]

I’ve seen videos where they say crows are one of the most intelligent birds.

 

[DeanB]

Starlings learn very quickly, if you kill one or 2 in a group around a feeder they learn to stay away. Or they leave at 1st little sound or movement. Best time to lure in Starlings is when super cold out with snow cover, pick a spot to shoot and sweep a clear spot in snow and put out a bunch of dry cat food its like crack to starlings they cant stay away from it.

 

[3Crows]

Starlings never come to my acerage anymore. They fly around or if needed climb very high before passing over. They know my range. Word spreads quickly.

I do not bother crows, I rather like them but I will shoot at them to run them off if they become too pestiferous. When a Southerner says "shooting at" that is meaning an intentional miss. Unfortunately the crows have figured out "shooting at" and just stick their tongues out at me.

 

[elh0102]

Before crows became subject to the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, we used to hunt them year-round, using shotguns and hand calling. It was great sport, and offered some tricky shooting as they dove down through the trees. They are very smart. Usually, if you are calling to a group, they will send a single scout in first. It was always important to either kill that crow, or let it go without it seeing you. If it saw anything suspicious, it would warn the group, and that was the end of that stand. I've read that starlings are smart, but I doubt that they are in the class of crows.

 

[DeanB]

Before crows became subject to the Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, we used to hunt them year-round, using shotguns and hand calling. It was great sport, and offered some tricky shooting as they dove down through the trees. They are very smart. Usually, if you are calling to a group, they will send a single scout in first. It was always important to either kill that crow, or let it go without it seeing you. If it saw anything suspicious, it would warn the group, and that was the end of that stand. I've read that starlings are smart, but I doubt that they are in the class of crows.

Not as smart but real close when it comes to assessing danger and avoiding it.

 

[ba49]

I had a pet crow as a kid and he was very smart. I actually was able to teach him to say a few words although not as clear as the Red Wing Blackbird I had later. I wa told they both are related to Myna birds who are very smart. My Crow used to bring me little shiny presents like gum wrappers or bottle caps.

 

[3Crows]

I had a pet crow as a kid and he was very smart. I actually was able to teach him to say a few words although not as clear as the Red Wing Blackbird I had later. I wa told they both are related to Myna birds who are very smart. My Crow used to bring me little shiny presents like gum wrappers or bottle caps.

Crows and ravens are very smart, some have passed the mirror test, they use tools to manipulate their environment and have generational memory as do primates. Starlings are rather stupid compared to crows but still plenty smart to figure out something is not quite right when their buddy explodes in a cloud of feathers and red mist. I have been able to get several at a time from passerby flocks as they come back to study their fallen buddy. After that, they never come back.

I have a bluebird trail. I clear out the HOSPs and they too will become very skitish requiring me to up my game on them. Last spring there was a male HOSP pestering one of my bluebird pairs. The HOSP went from atop the box to a small tree and the male bluebird followed and sat on a limb about 8 inches to one side and the female came and sat about the same distance to the other side as they looked him over. No worries bluebirds, the .25 M-Rod has your back. Range about 40 yards, I disintegrated the HOSP with a JSB 34 at over 900 fps. The remains fell to the ground. Both bluebirds looked over at me and then the male flew down and pecked at the dead remains. The female started fluttering around and then zoomed back into her nest box and the male proudly alighted atop.