I doubt it because this introduced European species takes a toll on the softfruit crop such as cherries and apricots. In the 1960s and 1970s there was a bounty on starlings in my region. 5cents apiece as I recall. Local farmers spend lots of money trying to keep them out of the orchards. Flocks of birds in the thousands can decend on a farm and decimate the cherry crop. They have the bad habit of taking only one or two nips out of each fruit before attacking the next one. The overall percentage of the entire cherry crop may only account for and average of 5% damage per farmer . But if it is your 10 acres they decend upon, your personal loss can be as high as 50% or more. They are shot, poisoned, and trapped all to no avail. The cost of their damage is passed on to the consumer. (You & I )Originally Posted by Lunker
Ps In case anyone thinks I am against starlings let me assure you that I have a nest of them in the eaves of my house and see no reason to disturb them dispite the fact that they use the hood of my truck for a bathroom. I do not hunt anything that small. If they were bigger and taste good , that would be different.
I never worked at a vineyard but I understand they can do a lot of damage to those crops as well.
They are the most populous bird in our neighbourhood and sooner or later I will come across a carcass and free guilt free feathers.
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