[Ag-eq] Notes From The BlanchRanch: Avian Chronicle cont

[Jewel]

Tracey!  It is the European starling, and yes!  rather than kill them in their thousands as farmers 
used to do, now they encourage them as they are marvellous controllers of the caterpillars of the 
grass beetle and pirana moth,  both of which are pasture pests and, which, as I said in my previous 
post, can destroy acre upon acres of grass, literally, overnight!
They:  the starling [natterbuddies] have never reached the plague proportions with which you have to 
deal.  The New Zealand Forest and Bird Protection Society have declared the European magpie to be a 
pest species and should be irradeicated as it raids the nests of our native birds and kills the 
nestlings, but I have not heard of starlings doing the same!
I was out in the driveway preparing to throw the next wheelbarrowload of weeds into the skip, and 
there was Blackie Jr squeaking his head off with excitement as soon as he became aware of my 
presence.

        Jewel


--------------------------------------------------
From: "Tracy Carcione via Ag-eq" <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, December 01, 2018 2:48 AM
To: "'Agricultural and Equestrean Division List'" <ag-eq at nfbnet.org>
Cc: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
Subject: Re: [Ag-eq] Notes From The BlanchRanch:  Avian Chronicle cont

Jewel, are farmers actually encouraging the European starling?  Or is this
some New Zealand bird?
Starlings are a menace around here.  They drive out native birds.  If I
could meet the idiot who thought it was a good idea to bring them over, I'd
give him a good, hard smack.

Btw, I found your sheep accounting interesting.
Tracy


-----Original Message-----
From: Ag-eq [mailto:ag-eq-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Jewel via Ag-eq
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2018 10:24 PM
To: blindlikeme at yahoogroups.com; GoatsPlus at yahoogroups.com; Agricultural and
Equestrean Division List; Deslie; gwila47 at hotmail.com; nzbg;
sally.coutts10 at gmail.com
Cc: Jewel
Subject: [Ag-eq] Notes From The BlanchRanch: Avian Chronicle cont

This morning, I heard a mature blackbird in  the distance, and, of course, I
do not know if it was
Blackie, but I  think that it is, probable that it was he, but he has handed
his former territory
over to Junior, his son, and, being the honourable, well brought upp bird
that he is, he will abide
by the rules of good behaviour and will stay out of the boy's way!!!

Junior's voice is getting stronger, hour by hour, and I mean that,
literally.
He has a long way to go before he reaches the operatic heights of his
revered male parent, but he is
naught but a studious child at present;  however, onward and upward:  he is
headed in the right
direction!!!
Next bird:  Natterbuddies.
For a time, farmers killed them by the thousand because the birds eat the
grass seed that the farmer
spread to renew the pasture, but then, it was discovered that the
natterbuddies weren't the real
enemy:  that went to the two species of grass grub, which, in the case of a
bad infestation, could
destroy acres of pasture overnight.
Yes!  it was, undeniable
that starlings did take a percentage of the seed, but that was far
outstripped by the damage done by
the grass grub so the pastoralists had a change of heart and instead of
killing the birds, they
encouraged them by providing luxurious apartments for them:  well, just nest
boxes really, but who
minds a little exaggeration from time to time?

          Jewel


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