Bill
We are operating a myna trap in Melba. We have caught no mynas in the
past 12 months (no news is good news!), but continue to catch
starlings (average 4.4 birds per trap day). It occurs to me that we
should try to coordinate our trapping strategy with others to
optimise our effect on the Canberra population of this somewhat
under-rated pest. Does the Indian Myna Action Group Inc. have a
strategy for targeting starlings, or are you aware of anyone who does?
My own observation is that there are 2 periods in the year when
starling captures are optimal. In each period, the majority of birds
visiting a trap location are naive, and therefore more likely to be
caught before they learn to avoid traps.
1. Right now (January) the majority of birds visiting a particular
food source are recently fledged chicks that are learning about the
location of such sources from their parents and from older fledglings
in their local area. These naive birds are readily trapped. I
believe that systematic targeting of starlings at this time of year
can have an important local impact.
2. During the cooler months, when food is not so widely available,
and when starlings are aggregating in preparation for migration,
birds from a much wider area follow the experienced local birds to
reliable food sources. A large proportion of these visitors will
have little experience of traps, and it seems that their readiness to
enter the trap encourages the local birds to drop their own
guard. Targeting them at that time could have a useful impact on
populations in the wider geographical area.
If, like us, other ACT starling trappers can only operate their traps
for a short period during the year, I would suggest they target the
two periods outlined above. Our own strategy involves trapping for
about a month from early January, and again for a month from early May.
I would be pleased to share experience with others who are interested
in developing a starling trapping strategy.
Cheers,
Daryl King
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