Best Time and Season for Starlings

[Strietwise]

Would like some input from folks on the best times and seasons for wacking starlings. I find that shortly after the young hatch in the spring and the dead of winter are the two best times for success. But are there other peak times that work?

 

[trust475]

One of the best times of the year is in late August through September and even October here in Colorado. They gather in large flocks as fall migration arrives for other birds.

Makes for a great time.

 

[Guest]

Streit, now is a great time for shooting starlings as they are busy building nests. Find the nesting sites and wait as the starlings keep returning, with nesting materials in their bills. Also male starlings right now often post near their nesting site to “sing” lightly flapping their wings. Presents a great shot. Good luck with your starling whacking. 

 

[stoti]

Here in Northern California they show up in mass right around the grape harvest(Aug.-Sept.) to clean up all the left over grapes. Millions and millions of them, it's a spectacle.

 

[LDP]

For me the best time is anytime a starling is within the range of my Daystate or any one of my other pcp rifles. We get some really cold temps and long winters some years and the starlings are not around but other than that anytime I have a chance I will take it. They are most prevalent early spring all the way thru late fall around here. 

 

[Strietwise]

I found that hunting just after the young have left the nest is prime time. The population is at its yearly high and the birds are stupid. Shout the adults first and you will probably get a shot at the young.

 

[Doug-T]

Around here the best time is in the dead of winter. No foraging to be done, not having babies, it's cold and they have a great food source in one location. Wade, my best friend and shooting buddy, and I take a couple trips each winter in December or January. The colder, the foggier, the rainier the better. There are animals, vehicles and people around all the time so the birds aren't scared of vehicles and hang out on these reject food piles and it messes with their brains, literally, like being drunk. They are there by the multi-millions, so many shooting 1,000 wouldn't even put a dent in their populations. On days like this we sit in the truck and shoot out the windows and go into old, abandoned buildings with our barn guns and lights. 200-750 starlings in a day is typical and usually 25-50ish pigeons mixed in too. We usually leave at dusk but with night vision, like in the "NV Starling Armageddon" video on another thread, we could grease 2K with 2 of us shooting well past dark. Might have to invest in night vision...….

Wade shooting out of his Dodge Massive-Cab. We were short on time and only bagged 105 starlings out of the truck and 95 pigeons.

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My friend Chad with his old Diana .177 a few years back. Four of us shooting that day out of 2 different blinds and inside barns. 700+ starlings and 30 pigeons. We counted how many starlings would fit in a 5-gallon bucket then extrapolated the total number.

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7-8 years ago with springers. 438 starlings.

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This is what happens when we went in August, only pigeons. All of the starlings had dispersed into the fields to forage, nest, breed.

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[Guest]

Doug, keep up the great work, farmers and native birds love you!

 

[Strietwise]

Doug - Great info. It sounds like you have it all figured out and an ideal place to shoot. Very helpful. Thanks.