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RE: Starling Attacks Flicker Nest



Unfortunately, my experience with starling vs. flicker has not been 
so encouraging. Last year I had a pair of flickers occupying a next 
box thrice thrown out by starlings, with fights inside the box and 
flicker eggs thrown out on the ground. I tried every non-lethal means 
I could think of to discourage the starlings. Each time the starlings 
took over, I shooed them out and blocked the entrance to the box 
temporarily. This caused the starlings to vacate the area briefly. I 
even tried throwing rocks at the starlings to scare them from the 
nest area. (They were in no danger--I am a lousy shot.) Twice the 
flickers moved back in and resumed egg laying (once even drilling a 
new hole in the front of the box), but each time the starlings forced 
their way back in, tossed the flicker eggs out, and took up 
residence. I was impressed that a "gang" of three or four starlings 
seemed to cooperate to harass the flickers, giving them no rest while 
they tried to defend the cavity. (The male flicker perched on the 
roof of the box a lot, trying to defend it.) I finally took the box 
down in disgust, not wanting to help raise more starlings.

Any creative ideas on starling discouragement will be appreciated.

>
>A similar interaction occurred between a Flicker and Starlings in my parents
>yard in Wilkes County earlier this year. Just as in your case, the Flicker
>successfully fended off the Starlings. What was perhaps even more
>interesting was that the Flicker didn't seem interested in occupying the
>cavities after excavation. The two cavities were in separate silver maple
>trees separated by about 30 yards. It spent several days working on the
>cavities only to leave them in the end. I concluded that it must have
>somehow lost a bet with the resident Bluebirds who immediately claimed one
>of the cavities.

-- 

Patrick Coin
Durham, NC
patrick@coinconsult.net