Native Woodpeckers vs. Invasive Starlings (a conservation effort)
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- čas přidán 27. 10. 2011
- / tedsholdover
Equipment used:
Gun: Edgun Matador .22 PCP Air Rifle
The Camera Mount I used to record through the scope can be found here:
www.amazon.com/dp/B0069VXY7K/...
The slow-motion camera I use to film the shots through the scope is the Casio EX-FC150. That camera is no longer made, but you can buy its successor (which is actually a better camera than the one I use) here:
www.amazon.com/dp/B004H3X1EI/...
The Exact same Hawke Scope that I use in this video (Sidewinder TAC 30 6.5-20x) can be found here:
www.amazon.com/dp/B00413KACA/...
Bipod: Harris 12-27" swivel
Photo credits:
Alfred and Fabiola Forns/Solent
David Faintich
dseigler @ Flickr
![Can Birds See Bullets? [Hunting Pest Species]](/img/n.gif)
Some people here need to realize that what this guy is doing is actually a GOOD thing. Starlings and English sparrows were introduced species in the 1890's, since then they have pushed all the naturally occurring birds out and their populations have diminished. Killing a few of them does the world a favor and allows for native species to return.
THANK YOU A RESANOBLE PERSON
The English sparrow was important to England from Africa in the 1800 not that it really matters.
I killed a house sparrow almost two months ago, and as a result we have 5 to 6 new baby swallows
@@paulreynolds5047 Important huh?
@@juanmagana2939 house sparrows are a protected bird why did you kill them
European starlings have negatively impacted the native birds in most areas in North America. good job bud. thanks for doing your part.
rstlr73 European humans have negatively impacted the native humans in most Northern America. Not blaming you. Just pointing out the analogy in other life forms all over the world.
Yeah I've been doing my part ever since I got my first slingshot now I have a proper .22 air rifle
And that’s why I’ve been doing my part as well (air Venturi avenger .22)
Glad that someone is actually hunting invasive species. We need more people doing that round the world.
I'm doing the same but I having some trouble explaining to neighbors why I hunt these's violet birds
infinitecanadian didn't know they were envisave
+Rafael Gonzalez They were released in the 19th Century in New York City's Central Park by some _idiots_ who wanted every bird in Shakespeare's stories to be in the U.S.A. If they wanted that so badly, why not just move to Great Britain?
+Rafael Gonzalez Aye, along with house sparrows and rock pigeons (although rock pigeons aren't too bad for the environment)
infinitecanadian Yeah! Feral cats neat to eat.
I really don't care what the haters say Ted, you should be very proud of your efforts to help those beautiful woodpeckers thrive. Starlings are very mean and aggressive birds, and will freeload any chance they get. How would the haters like to build a house, only to have some squatter come along and steal it, and then not be able to do anything about it? Keep up the good work, and the awesome videos. This one made me a subscriber.
What the starlings do is worse. It's more akin to you building a house, raising a family, THEN the squatters come, kill your children and build a fort on top of their tiny corpses.
Amelia Bee You again?!?!?!
***** Yep! Ya miss me? :p
In my opinion this is wrong you leave nature alone
andy khamsengmanivong this is not nature, European Starlings are an introduced invasive species, that do not belong in the America ecosystem. They are responsible for the decline of many cavity nesting birds including Eastern and Western Blue Bird, Northern Flicker, American Kestrel and many others. hear is a link to the cornell lab of ornithology you can see what thay say about stralings.
Eugene Schieffelin introduced two batches of starlings (60 in 1890 and 40 in 1891) so as to introduce all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare to North America. This genius also sponsored the introduction of the house sparrow. What an accomplished fellow.
Allan, Good Answer, and true, too. When I was in the 11th grade English literature I knew there was something I did not like about Shakespere I did Not like. Now I know why. Starlings will be the final demise of the Red-headed woodpecker. Watch and see. Dan
PETA tracked down the nest box location, and removed the bodies in an attempt to resurrect the little bastards. Keep up the good work Ted. I know it's an old video, but ti's still a good one.
😃😃 lol
Wow.. I have to say that I didn't expect to learn so much about the flickers and starlings, specifically regarding their nesting habits. Nice tip about the saw dust... I'm definitely going to try that out. Even aside from the shooting aspects, this is really good information.. thanks for that... learned a lot! As a side note, Starlings do eat a huge number of bugs... you can see them walking across fields in rows, controlling lot of pest insects. Not judging your decision to shoot them... raccoons often reach in and eat birds out of their cavities... that's why predator guards on the entry holes are popular.
Just because they eat bugs isn't a reason to not kill them. When starling numbers are lowered, native bird (thrashers, thrushes, robins, cardinals, bluejays, blackbirds, bluebirds, flycatchers, catbirds, etc. ) populations will increase and do the same job!
As far as what happened to the bird corpses, you're correct about raccoons, it could have been ratsnakes (if they are found there), even the flickers may have returned and removed them, they will reach in and pull them out.
I've seen Rat snakes check out starlings holes to see if there are any occupants.
I once had a pair of starlings that kept evading me. One day I noticed that there had been no activity at the nest, and sure enough, I found a snake nose poking out of the hole.
Raccoons also reach in birds nests.
Two birds, that I know of, are not protected by any law or treaty. One is the European Starling, the other is the English Sparrow. They can be dispatched at any time, for any reason.
Yup.
When I saw the title I thought this video was going to turn me into a hater. Glad to see I was wrong, and that you were actually protecting the woodpeckers and not killing them. Happy hunting.
You created 3 zombie Starlings, the plague has begun...
Andrew Tornadoboy
I'd say it was aliens. Ancient ones specifically.
@@LAPISTime25 something!
Yup
This comment didn’t age to well
@@vickyestepp6799 I say it age like spice wine XD
You are heroic. Northern Flickers are awesome, awesome birds, and it's a tragedy to see their populations affected by these rats of birds.
Pedophile Hunterits been too long, \
Nice vid helping get rid of the invasive species. Why haters gotta hate
probably a weasel got the dead birds. They are small enough to fit through the hole of the bird nest.
+MaZaKeRaL starlings are know to bring dead ones out for the following year
Always good to see a starling take a hit! I like to give the fledglings a bath in brake fluid.
Now, I'm not saying it was aliens, but... It was aliens.
true.
Folan Wolf ,
dang! you beat me to it
The Illuminati
Ted - raccoons will pull birds out of bird houses.
And I will pull raccoons out of a bird house. Crazy rotations.
I think thats the best answer I've seen so far.
And I would put a blow dart in he raccoon
Most likely for a hole of that size would be a least weasel is my guess.
I bet it was rats they are known to go into nest just a opinion
I have no interest in hunting and know very little about it but your videos came up and i just clicked one night and have been hooked ever since. Great stuff man,
Gotta say, I love your videos for two reasons:
1. I always learn something new
2. The freeze frames always give me some great art references.
So thank you for the videos!
Those dogs looked like tiny bears
Good job Mr Ted and great shooting and patience. I hate the Starlings, ugly,nasty, make a mess during nesting. I am in Humboldt Co Calif where the nasty ass bird is flying amok. I have done my part and wiped out about 5oo+ out of a million. U da Man............TS
Ted's video offers a pretty good explanation of why he is hunting the starlings. After reading some of the comments I see that more people should listen and learn a little rather than respond as they do and show their ignorance.
Birds really do have little wars.
I was working on a roof doing repairs and it had a huge nesting seagul colony, when we went near the nests they would attack but the crows would try to stop them attacking us by attacking the seaguls.
The crows thought that we were gonna steal the eggs and were trying to help us achieve that lol
just discovered your channel. great work dude. I really enjoy.
The woodpeckers ate them! LOL
lol, revenge!
Hey Ted, my wife found your videos and we've been watching them all morning. Your naration and knowledge on the pests you're erradicating is awesome. I only wish the little bleeding hearts making ignorant comments could say the same. Anyway, thanks for the well made, entertaining videos!
Well done Ted! Great shooting, great backstory and great educational information. Oh.. great sunset as well.
try quickscoping
Lol
XD
You sir made my fucking day
i bet you use steady aim loser
What's wrong with steady aim? And try to make a CZcams channel this good cuz yours is shit
Northern Flickers are in decline, good on you for taking corrective action against these invasive species.
Love your videos. Shame more people can't comprehend the true meaning of conservation. Keep them coming love your .22 and your filming is awesome. Best on youtube.
Good shooting. . Love that scope camera combination. .
think it was a house cat or a BIGFOOT!
Thank you for this. I know a lot of bird lovers who get angry when people say they don't like starlings. I would like them more in their native land. Starlings (through the fault of humans) are pushing native birds out. They're the reason my neighborhood no longer has a big variety of woodpeckers now save for the red-bellied ones. Them and house sparrows.
They're not really "bird lovers" then. I love native songbirds, therefore I despise starlings and house sparrows. The bluebird is the state bird of New York. Know how many bluebirds I saw growing up? Not a single one!
subbed. fucking awesome. AND HUMANE, I bet alot of haters don't understand that. This is humane pest control of invasive species people... not joykilling everything in sight!
keep up the awesome work and vids man.
Better than poison, that's for sure.
Any update to this story Ted?
great story-telling! Thanks for producing and posting!
You are badass my friend. You're providing a service and you do it with excellence and professionalism that is incredibly impressive.
If you don't agree with what he's doing then why are you watching this video?
Ted
"We lost the war but not the battle"
Me
" yeah you did..... wait....WHAT?!"
Whenever you show footage of the birds you like through your scope, it really brings to mind the fact that the difference between their continued existence and their immediate death is the way that you feel about that bird species.
Joshua Brooks And in the wild it depends on whether or not a predator is hungry, or if there’s enough food, or...
I didn't say the only factor in the life of a bird he happens to encounter is his emotional reaction to the bird species. I recognize there are times other than the moment this man is pointing a gun at them that they can die. Indeed, a serial killer might rightly point out that while they might have killed someone, they could otherwise have been hit by a train, or died of disease, or had a heart attack...
This is Joshua from Sacramento, CA. I like your videos and you have some great info in them! Keep It up!
great shots....
I started thinning out the Blackbirds near me, in MO.... I've noticed that other birds have learned about my actions and have closed in on my proximity. We have Starlings, Brewers blackbirds and the common Grackle that travel together. After a couple shots with my NP2, they don't come back for hours on end. The wood peckers have started thriving, and also the cardinals. The Grackle is not an evasive species, but is huge compared to a starling. All of the blackbirds are considered pests here. Can you make a super detailed video about sighting in a scope? No one ever says which way to turn the turrets to get the correct results for shooting at distance. When it comes to scopes, I am sort of dyslexic. I turn the turret the wrong way and miss by a mile. And I shoot up into the trees so I don't hit anything else.... which makes my scope even more off. I'm sort of a beginner at using high powered scopes... I'm too used to open sights... and My new airguns don't have sights.
jtmagicman25 Lots to be said for peep sites, jtm25.
Re: sighting in your scope...
-pick a target, 15 meters away (paper plate, w/a center dot, &, a safe, appropriate oversized backstop.
- place your crosshairs on the dot. give yourself 3-5 shots, just to see where your group lands.
-if you're on the plate, or, can see where you hit the backstop, adjust (windage, or, elevation) which ever is farthest away from your poa (point of aim / crosshairs on dot).
-find out the increments per click on your scopes manual.
If you're not sure which way to adjust your scope, pending your 1st group placement; if you're hitting around 3 or 9 o'clock... adjust windage. if your hitting around 12 or 6 o'clock... adjust your elevation.
-use paper & pen if need be, to keep track of which way you turned, noting which way your poi (point of impact) moved.
Once you've got that down (for that scope, &, distance), AND, as long as your airgun 'groups' well... you're well on your way.
Hope this helps. SHLWM (way more than merely.... Peace) ! : )
David Williams I think on my centerpoint 4-16x40 scope, if the point of impact is left of the crosshair, I turn the turret left and if it's hitting low, I also turn the elevation left. But I could be wrong. Weird thing is... I can't put a pellet on a paper bullseye, but I continually drop birds all the time. with near perfect heart and lung shots. almost always shooting off hand.
Yo man, I live in Missouri too!
Same
+jtmagicman25 Brewers black birds and Grackles are protected species in the US you know?
thanks for the idea for the plexiglass in front of the woodpecker birdhouse. Great idea as we have nasty starlings here on the East Coast too.
I went to school with a guy that was a southern flicker. Every time you looked at him he was digging for gold. 😂😂😂😂 Good video as always!!!
glad someone's doing damage control. Thank you! And haters don't realize the destruction these birds are creating for our native species.
Aliens.
This was such a well done video man
It seems that three already dead starlings would make an excellent meal for any pine snake, or similar species, that came along to investigate a nest. Unless snakes aren't common in the area, of course. I learned quite a lot from your video, thank you for being such a strong advocate of our native birds.
i think you meant to say although we lost the battle we won't loose the war i think
How to kill starlings without doing anything yourself:
1. get a cat
2. wait
I've got 2 cats, they prefer sparrows and occasionally starling chicks. never had adults ones yet though
Starlings are FUCKING BIRDS.
Welfare birds at that, since they lay eggs in Sparrow and other birds nests, for said other birds to raise.
my cat won't eat them. lol
TheRealMcCoy chill the fuck out don't get salty because I'm the odd one out
Hey, Ted. I just LOVE the "Little Giant' ladder, which is what I THINK you were using there. I've had mine for almost twenty years now, and still good as new!
I love your informative videos. Keep up the good work.
I still say people need to get a taste for these birds. They are actually quite good. Cook like you would dove or any other small fowl.
+lorddraylon time for some featheredratbecue. Make a starling cooking contest and it will catch on. You know how competitive people are.
+lorddraylon Starling-kabobs?
I just made 50 pounds last night for a family reunion. they are actually delicious.
Those things at the end look like black bear cubs..?
they look like black baby collies
They're dogs lol
nice pics and footage of the flickers. great job on the starlings.
Great shooting and excellent camera work!
A raccoon or maybe a crow or raven.
+Endergaming racoons keep attacking the bird nests
maybe a flecker took it to acknowledge the revenge
Hahaha, yeah, flaunted their corpses in front of the other sparrows!
don't forget bird feed on other bird like the annoying woodpecker but the starlings do there eat other bird just curious about them
With bluebird nest boxes it is known that a slotted (incompletely covered) roof the starlings will not use the nest box. This may work with flicker nest boxes as well?
Nice shooting and I like the video through the scope slowed to observe the trajectory.
Starlings are a PIA.
shot every damn starling u possibly can they are the worst bird ever
And cats wont eat starlings ether.
Save the bullets for zombies.
You read my mind. Those *adorable* little pups look SO much like little piggies!
I rehab native songbirds and shoot starlings/house sparrows daily when I can. I only wish my aim was better. I've had starlings kill downy woodpeckers, bluebirds and nestling red belly woodpeckers in my yard. They're non-native and I appreciate your work, Ted. On behalf of native birds everywhere, thank you.
I thought the little fluffy things at the end were bears!!
+Conor Barnes I Think they ate the bears!
lol those dogs?? looked like bears so cute
Keep up the good work. When I was a kid, we had a big multi-unit house for purple martins on the roof of our garage. Keeping the English sparrows from overrunning the place was a never-ending challenge. Going up on the roof and using a hook to pull out sparrow nests was effective but that stressed-out the martins too. My dad got a permit from the city to shoot the sparrows with an air rifle, and he put little "backstop boards" on the corners of the "walkway" that encircled the bird house, since sparrows like to perch at those corners. That way, any errant shots would be stopped instead of sailing off into the neighbors' places. My dad used the now-classic Sheridan air rifle for this, pumped up only into the low part of the range of use-able pressures, again for safety in the neighborhood.
Another trick was a home-built trap, which was a "decoy bird house" with dried grass sticking out the entrance hole (so it looked much like a sparrow nest). The sparrows couldn't resist checking it out, and once inside, a lightly counterbalanced trap door would give way beneath them and drop them into a fabric bag hanging under the house, and then the trap door would swing shut again, ready to fool the next sparrow into thinking there was a "floor" in there. We got rid of countless sparrows with that trap.
I don't have any kind of air rifle these days, so if I had found myself in your position with that flicker nest, I think I would have just prepared a little patch to tack in place and cover the doorway of that nest box before the young starlings took to the wing.
Love the videos I'm a city person and I learn a lot from watching this channel.
Waiting two, three hours to for those critters to pop out their head? Ain't got time for that,bro...take the ladder, drag them out, twist the neck...let the cats enjoy a tender snack. 😺😺😺
The owner took those dead birds out
i got a good genuine laugh and some giggles outta that thanks . im gonna show the kids in the morning.
Well done Ted. Around this time of year my brother and I team up with our pellet guns and take out as many starlings as we can. My grandfather has some boxes that Martins always come to but the starlings will come and kick them out.
Ants ate them YO! There is a video on youtube of a gecko that gets completely devoured by ants withing hours
oh, jay! :D
addamhussein420 AAAAAAANNNNNNNTTTTSSSSSSSS! EVERYWHERE HELP!
those were solenopsis, they usually stick to the ground
I also have a plague of birds in my home .They are destroying my organic garden but this is not my main worry : there is a big bird that is killing my chickens and this is the big target.I think I must get this rifle
get the gamo whisper fusion pro .177 with the gamo whisper pellets, the gamo hunter extreme SE .177, the gamo bone collector bull whisper .177, or the gamo whisper .177! the .177 is better for birds because it is nice in fast and kills them instantly and its cheaper to shoot. I recommend the first one the whisper fusion pro! its amazing but if you use the PBA(precision ballistic alloy) pellets it will be as loud as a .22
_
Oh yeah... I just bought myself a little Christmas present this year. I can't wait to get it zeroed so I can start murdering Avian Nuisance Species. Won't be taking my chickens.
hell yeah
Edward chantler hicks to die in a fire hippie
I've found blackbird nests that include feathers and bones of other birds among the twigs and grasses that make up the nest. Maybe other birds took them as building materials? So were the starlings useful after all?
Ted forgot to mention that it was a full moon that night, so the dead babies obviously escaped the box when they became zombie starlings upon the rise of the full moon.
I'm thinking raccoons reached in there and grab them
Starlings are cannibals...just sayin'
No, they're not.
+Mike Foley Yes. Yes they are.
Whats the benefits of wood peckers? All they do in my industry is peck into the telecommunication cables. I couldn't understand encouraging them to an area.
Very interesting and informative. Thanks and very well done. I've had Starlings take over boxes. I put my ladder up and clean out the young. It would seem a lot easier than waiting for them to poke their heads out.
the point of this channel is to hunt animals that land owners cant kill them selves , he is not doing most of this for fun , he makes money both uploading videos & hunting , so if you dont like that fact then you can always watch other youtube videos (:
Keep shooting
when shooting birds on power lines aren't you afraid of shooting the line in two..or is the gun too weak for that?
Way too weak
Fairly nice video, I think I have watched it before, at least once. I just found the sound track a bit noisy this time, not sure if it is my local audio configuration or if it is the video itself. Anyone else finding the audio part somewhat close to peak source volume, borderline distorting parts of the time?
Are you ready for zombies/
Well done, I love the Starling shots you take. They are pests, and should be treated that way. I guess people don't realize that they are bad for our indigenous birds. Great, thanks for showing that
Gio
Starlings are bad for our Indigenous birds, they are basically killing our local birds in North America. I have no problem taking out a starling with my 22lr or air rifle.
Biagio Cozza 'MURICA!
They are not "bad", you could entitle lot of animals "bad" as they have natural 0 care about other species.. including us. They didn't fly there for there own wish and when they got there, they try what all species tries to do... survive and as american spiecies was not prepared for them, eco-system been disbalanced. If they are so bad why they are red listed in there native land where there numbers actually reducing?
I understand intent of preservation of original eco-system, but i don't understand all this hate toward them, that sometimes sounds really stupid (like shiting on car, when any bird can shit on your car), hunters can do job without that... i mean we are the one as spiecies who bring them there just to shoot and hate them later on.
I won't hide that personally like starlings and imo they are most fun birds to watch... but you know i'm from Europe :p
I hear one of the worst things for birds is the house cat! The Audubon society I guess just freaking hates cats! ...good luck for anyone that starts sniping CATS on youtube though ...the cat lovers will put a hit out!
Ted, my starlings won't let me get within 100 yards! Seriously they are SOOOOO wiley, I cann't get within range. Any ideas?
What's your opinion on shooting grackles?
good shot and good film
Thanks for protecting the native species. In the US Starlings are an invasive alien, for what it's worth, I totally approve. BTW, Nice shootin'. Missing bodies, possums - small but self-sufficient foraging young in July. Maybe a small raccoon?
Ok. So it has been a few years now. How have you done managing the boxes for the flickers?
Good shootling and a big fan of your videos! I wish I could shoot half as good as this.
owles
Another pretend COD sniper pretending the birds are Russian.
no lol, its pest control.. he gets paid to do this
You aren't very bright are you?
Considerably brighter than the tool with the air rifle.
iAMChrisCC Clearly not.
Guthrie Tabios Well certainly the dude is most likely the average American that sits on his ass all day eat nachos drink coke smell his farts and play video games like a low life piece of shit he is
Watching all your vids again and making sure I hit that like button for you.
I have a hatsan .22
I copied the model number thats why its bold sorry about that.
Whats the best accuracy gun that you have used that is cheap? lol
Thanks,
Marc
probably racoon took the isis birds out.
I have commented on your video about Sparrow marauders vs Swallows, and I repeat here - bravo! May I suggest that you add a perch (t-joint) to the front of the nesting boxes, just below the entrance hole, to give you a better shot at starlings (rodents of the skies) when they return to the nest. Incidentally, starling adults will return, year-after-year, to the same nesting site until such time they cannot gain access (sparrows the same). A sliding tray/drawer, or a hinged trapdoor, at the base of the nesting box could be a solution to extraction of 'waste material'.
Your enthusiasm of killing these birds is kind of scary 0_0 however I do understand your purpose for killing them.
Isaac Pham overpopulation and ruining landowners yard they want them gone he goes in and gets rid of them.
Good job. I was taught from a young age, it is always open season on starlings.
what type of reliable rifle would you suggest for a californian
I feel like you're the best youtuber.I don't know why?