I HATE Grackles - Just Ranting

[Woodyboat]

I hate Grackles, Starlings, Cowbirds and even BlueJayes - all the bully birds.

We built this house in 1995 and put a big beautiful wooden deck on the back facing a really nice patch of woods between our place and the subdivision behind us about a half a mile away. It's very peaceful and a great place to sit in our bay window of a morning with a cup of coffee to watch all our song birds eat the seed and suet we put out for them. We especially like the woodpeckers and are amazed at the variety of them that we have here in TN - Downies, Ladderbacks, Hairies and a few Red Heads.

But when the bully birds arrive, the show is over. These guys run EVERYTHING else off and they keep them off. Then they absolutely desecrate the feeders and all the suet. They don't leave until things are either completely depleted or they're so torn up that we can't make heads or tails of it all. This REALLY infuriates my mother. At 86, our song birds are a real therapy for her.

Right at the moment, it's winter. Everything is covered in snow and the little song birds are just ravenously hungry. They have come to know us so well that they don't even run when I walk out on the back deck to restock the feeders. They just hop up on the railings just a few feet away and wait for me to pour in more seed. They will all be on the feeders by the time I get the back door closed.

We've discovered that, if we find just one bully bird and get rid of him, the others think twice about coming around. They seem to send out scouts and when a scout is successful, it goes back and tells the entire flock. So getting that one bird is important. Popping them with the .22 is great fun but just the other day, the recoil spring broke and left the bolt jammed. So now it's down to the pellet gun and dang it. I hate having to reload after one shot and them pump the darn thing. I have new parts for the .22 ordered but I will have to be happy with the pellet gun. The only other gun I have right now is the .357 and I don't think the neighbors would be too happy if I were blasting away with that. LOL Just the concussion from that is enough to shatter the wine glasses in the kitchen.

Oh well... I'm just ranting. LOL

[FleetsidePaul]

Just yesterday, my neighbor came running over saying the was a big Crane dive bombing my pond. So I ran out back and sure enough there it is trying to get at my Koi fish, it's a good thing I built that pond deep because I have some expensive fish in it.

We have a lot of birds around here. We have a little waterfall in back and it attracts them.They like to splash around in it. And my wife has a hummingbird feeder. Those little guys do nothing but fight with each other, but it's kind of fun to watch them go at it. That's just how they are.

It's nice to sit on the patio and watch them. But I don't want to see that damn Crane again. But I probably will, it knows that there are fish here. I was just lucky my neighbor saw it and I could run it off.

[special-K]

I hate those S.O.B.s too! I have to use an air gun and I am very careful with that. That's easy, I have the perfect line on them for all considerations. Those rats with wings are jumpy guilt ridden suckers. When there is a mix of the first one or two Starlings and song birds, all I do is work the back door knob and those fugitives bolt long and far. That makes the innocent birds hop over to a bush or limb to assess what's up and hop right back on the feeders.

If my neighbors could tighten up their out buildings maybe those rats would leave. I had them when I first moved in and none in any of my stuff now. Damn freeloaders!

[Woodyboat]

Originally Posted by FleetsidePaul

...was a big Crane dive bombing my pond ... trying to get at my Koi fish, .

O WOW!! For me THAT WOULD BE TOTAL WAR!! ...and one dead crane. LOL

Originally Posted by special-K

...all I do is work the back door knob and those fugitives bolt long and far. That makes the innocent birds hop over to a bush or limb to assess what's up and hop right back on the feeders.

Yup, I'm doing a lot of the exact same thing here. It's really funny but the innocent birds all seem to know that I am not after them and that I'm doing them a favor. So I just work the knob until the bullies get tired of the false alarms and get cocky. Then, I'll get one more of them.

One problem this old man is having is that my eyesight is no longer good enough to use the iron sights on the pellet gun that was $25 at Walmart back in the 1980s. Any other long rifle in this house has a scope. But my old eyes have a super difficult time lining up. I gotta say that all my entire life, I've been a dead-eye crack shot. In the past, if I aint putting meat on the table, the gun aint shootin straight and I know I have to immediately rectify that. My first deer rifle was a 30-30 and when I went deer hunting, granddaddy only gave me two rounds and expected me to bring home supper. And this is no exaggeration. I RARELY disappointed him. So you can only imagine how careful I'm having to be with this pellet gun. It's a matter of personal pride.

[special-K]

Same kind of thing here. I was given one shot to get a squirrel. Made it count

[Woodyboat]

ROTFLOL!

Now here's what all the gun control advocates don't understand. (Hey, this is my thread and I'll wreck it if I want to.)

They don't understand that WE, and fellow hunters just like us, are the reason the U.S. will never get invaded. We all already own our guns, we're well stocked with ammo and we dang sure know how to shoot! If there was an invading force that came here, we'd all have so much fun deciding which button on their commander's shirt to shoot first .... at 750 yards or so. LOL

[special-K]

No military could make our shores.

[bennylava]

Originally Posted by special-K

No military could make our shores.

For now, maybe.

But no security net is absolute. They wouldn't have to. They could wreak havoc in a million other ways. Which is why we all need to be well armed.

[special-K]

Right. Our threat these days is terror tactics, not armies. I was just saying no Normandy style landings could ever be made on our shores and they damn sure ain't flying no planes and dropping troops

[68panelman]

We had issues the first month in our new home with Barn swallows. The homes exterior is textured like stucco and their mudhomes soon followed. The front porch is covered so these guys would fly in and make mud homes in the corners, every morning I would be going out there hosing it away. I eventually had to put up ugly netting. Upon researching this bird type I found out they were federally protected, ugh why?
Eventually I grew to like them, enjoy watching them on my deck at sunset, swarming to get all the insects.
My previous home we had squirrels in the soffits, we purchased it from a real elderly lady, who I assume hadn't the funds to exterminate them.
I tried the humane way with a cage trap, peanut butter caught a few and release them miles away. Then I wasn't going to waste Fuel and wear-and-tear anymore, still had squirrels in the soffit, the old 10 pump BB gun wasn't cutting it, so I purchased a break barrel 1450 fps pellet gun with scope and was on the hunt for these little bastards. The get the word out somehow to each other, cause after getting 7-8 of them, the never returned for 3 yrs. By that time I re-trimed the house eliminating the old wooden soffits

[special-K]

Squirrels can find their way back from 20 or more miles away. Relocating them isn't humane anyway. They have their territory and food stores you are taking them from. Best to be short and sweet with them

Swallows are ace fliers. It's like watching an air show. Squirrels are actually really cool, too. The have amazing abilities... top gymnasts or acrobats. I just wish they'd keep to the trees.

[Stocker]

Since this thread has meandered just a bit, I don't feel too bad about adding a couple slightly off-topic things.

Dave (Woodyboat) -- You mentioned diminished eyesight, have you been checked for cataracts? I was told for years that I had 'em, not bad but getting a bit worse each year. I knew my eyesight wasn't what it once was but I had no idea how bad they were until I had cataract surgery last fall. Amazing difference! I had needed glasses since about age 7 and got contacts at 19. Only thing I need now is readers for close-up. If you're on Medicare, they pay for most of it.

Also, since birds are more on-topic, I was taking the K20 to town a couple days ago to have a noisy A/C compressor looked at. Saw a dead deer on the shoulder of the opposite lane. Two vultures lifted off but there was something quite large standing on top of the deer. As I got closer and drove past, I saw it was a huge golden eagle. Beautiful bird, fantastic markings -- I had seen a few at a distance before but never so close. Impressive!

[harpo231]

swallows eat their weight in skeeters daily

[harpo231]

Originally Posted by special-K

Squirrels can find their way back from 20 or more miles away. Relocating them isn't humane anyway. They have their territory and food stores you are taking them from. Best to be short and sweet with them :

We found 5 to 10 miles on the farm [did it many times]

[68panelman]

Yeah, I would release them at a mall that was in the center of 4 major state and county roads, told myself if he makes it back home, he's more than welcome to stay

[Woodyboat]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Dave (Woodyboat) -- You mentioned diminished eyesight, have you been checked for cataracts?

You are not the first to suggest that. But your input does keep me focused. I'm going to have my eyes examined immediately. At 61, I've always considered myself to be very fortunate where my eyesight was concerned. I didn't even need readers until I was 47 and then I only had to get full prescription glasses when I was 55. That's not really bad at all.

Ok, so here's the latest tally. With my trusty ole pellet gun, I've downed seven grackles over the last two days. One grackle hit the ground over the edge of the railing and I didn't see where he landed. So, I walked over to take a peek over the rail, gun still in hand, and a hawk zoomed in, grabbed the dead grackle and flew away with it. WOW that was a new one on me. I have absolutely no beef with the hawks here. I live and let live.

The snow has been so deep here that I haven't been picking up the carcasses from the yard. But now I see that all have disappeared. Are the hawks getting them all? Hmmm.... I don't see any raccoon tracks but I know we've got lots of them down in the woods. I recognize their vocalizations. In the past, I've seen the 'coons pick up dead animals and so, I've figured they cleaned up after me at times. But not this time.

There is the one cow bird that I am swearing vengeance upon. He is either one really lucky bird or he's SUPER intelligent. For the last two days, the sun has been shining bright and there is a lot of glare with all the snow on the ground. Everytime I open the door and try to get a shot at him, this cow bird flys straight up into the sun. I'm not talking once or twice here but rather, like five times straight. Is he really that smart?

[special-K]

Originally Posted by harpo231

We found 5 to 10 miles on the farm [did it many times]

I'm just saying researchers found squirrels can find their way back from as far as 20 miles. They have crazy strong olfactory sensors as well as instinct to return to their domain. Unless you marked those varmints you don't know if it was the same ones. Usually the dumped squirrel is placed in the territory of others and that doesn't end well. Those would be ones that didn't come back. Your best bet, and most humane, is to rub them out. When I had a cat I never saw a squirrel in my yard. I did find a carcass up on the lumber rack, one of the cat's nooks.

[GOPAPA]

I built a box trap and caught over 25 chipmonks ,,hauled them away some 3-4 miles and got them all back ,, next took then way off down by a big creek some 10 miles away ..took bird feeder down ,,no more chipmonks .. also caught a few pack rats and hauled them the 10 miles ,,only one came back..
What happened,,,I didn't want to shoot the rat in my box trap ,,so I took the trap out of the bed of my truck,, opened the door and the rat run off under my truck.. I looked to see him or her go,, didnt see nothing ,,

Came home ,,dog barked and barked at the front of my truck and under the wheel wells ,,opened hood ,,rat was up by the heater just sitting there..

Then I went to start truck next day and found the dog had chewed the ground strap off engine to the frame.. fixed that ,,cought rat again , this time took trap further from truck when opening door,, no more rats

[Woodyboat]

Originally Posted by GOPAPA

Came home ,,dog barked and barked at the front of my truck and under the wheel wells ,,opened hood ,,rat was up by the heater just sitting there..

Now THAT is funny. Gave me a good laugh. Thank you so much

[harpo231]

Originally Posted by special-K

I'm just saying researchers found squirrels can find their way back from as far as 20 miles. They have crazy strong olfactory sensors as well as instinct to return to their domain. Unless you marked those varmints you don't know if it was the same ones. Usually the dumped squirrel is placed in the territory of others and that doesn't end well. Those would be ones that didn't come back. Your best bet, and most humane, is to rub them out. When I had a cat I never saw a squirrel in my yard. I did find a carcass up on the lumber rack, one of the cat's nooks.

Only in the summer or when parasites were bad did they get relocated,,,otherwise they went for dinner [6 brothers]

['63GENIII]

Originally Posted by FleetsidePaul

Just yesterday, my neighbor came running over saying the was a big Crane dive bombing my pond. So I ran out back and sure enough there it is trying to get at my Koi fish, it's a good thing I built that pond deep because I have some expensive fish in it.

We have a lot of birds around here. We have a little waterfall in back and it attracts them.They like to splash around in it. And my wife has a hummingbird feeder. Those little guys do nothing but fight with each other, but it's kind of fun to watch them go at it. That's just how they are.

It's nice to sit on the patio and watch them. But I don't want to see that damn Crane again. But I probably will, it knows that there are fish here. I was just lucky my neighbor saw it and I could run it off.

I used to work for a guy who was real into keeping Koi. His first pond was a disaster.. designed by him, stocked and immediately cleaned out within a few weeks by raccoons. He tore that pond out, and designed a pond with concave edges (no slope at all) that was also deeper than the last pond. Problem solved with the raccoons anyway. They couldn't reach down into the water and if they got in, they knew they couldn't get out.

Then came the Crane. That big SOB was standing in the pond one day as I was working next to it on the horse stables. It was standing so darned still that I didn't even notice it there while I was installing a plug. I had my back to it and was less than 10' away from it when it dipped its head, snagged a Koi and spread those massive wings to fly off. Near gave me a heart attack in the process!

The owner and I came up with a pretty simple solution of stretching a fine black plastic net over the top of the pond. He put it out for a couple of weeks at first and then sporadically throughout the years. Seems as though the Crane tried to come back a couple of times but couldn't land in the water and maybe found an easier source of food. The guy hasn't lost a fish to a Crane in over 5 years now.

When I heard how much some of those Koi cost, I understood why people get pissed when they get pinched.