Districts asked to team up against ’flying rats‘

Kelowna Daily Courier:

Starling damage to crops is so severe that some growers have dubbed the aggressive birds “flying rats.” The three regional districts in the Okanagan are each being asked to contribute $25,000 to the Starling Control Program in 2009, its sixth year of operation. Program manager Connie Bielert told Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen directors that almost 223,000 starlings have been culled from the Okanagan since 2003, including more than 41,000 last year. Hot spots include the Oliver area, where more than 11,700 starlings were trapped, and the Marshall Feedlot in Kelowna, where more than 21,000 birds were trapped from September to December. A further 2,700 starlings were culled during a two-month period at the Campbell Mountain landfill in Penticton. “Trappers continue to find their greatest success at feedlots and other cattle operations, and at landfill sites,” she said. The RDOS has included $25,000 for starling control in its proposed 2009 budget, but some directors suggested the growers should put forward a greater share of the overall funding.

Commodity groups will contribute $27,000 towards the program‘s $156,500 budget this year, with the B.C. Wine Grape Council to put forward $5,000. Bielert said the program is also participating in a research study through Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops to determine the population structure of starlings in southern B.C. Observations from initial data from the Okanagan-Similkameen suggest that while the breeding population may be declining, the winter population continues to increase – likely due to migration from other areas. Funding for the research study is separate from the trapping program. Oliver cherry grower Greg Norton, co-chairman of the starling control program, said TRU‘s study will provide valuable information.
“We are going to be armed with much more than anecdotal information as to the movements of these populations, and that‘s the key,” he said. Norton said this will help the program create better strategies to manage the starlings “We‘re seeing significant decreases in most areas during the actual time when they do the damage,” he said. However, Norton said from after harvest until the end of December, there has been some infilling of the population from elsewhere. This is where the research will prove its worth. “That‘s the key to the program. We‘ve got to figure out where they‘re coming from,” he said. The birds could be coming from elsewhere in B.C. or from Washington state, which has its own starling control program. Norton remains optimistic the RDOS will fund the program this year, but noted it is imperative to get support from all three regional districts in the Okanagan. Many growers implement their own starling control measures, he said, and agriculture contributes substantially to the overall economy. He added a reduced starling population allows growers to cut back on noise-makers and other control methods which often generate complaints from nearby residential property owners. The European starling is not native to North America. Several dozen birds were released in New York City‘s Central Park in the late 1800s by an industrialist who wanted all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare‘s works to be brought to the U.S. They have since spread across the continent.
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Don Quixote Note: The new 2009 NORD Budget sets the total bill for starling Control at $26,500 (new Service #805) (this is 6% more than $25,000 requested- looks like NORD is setting up a $1500 reserve.)
Distribution of $26,500 Starling Tax:

• Armstrong $1102 (4.16%) 5.5% by population Nord effective Dec 1, 2007
• Enderby $ 663
• Vernon $13,647 (51.50%) 46.5% by population Nord effective Dec 1, 2007
  
• Coldstream $3527 (13.31%) 12.25% by population Nord effective Dec 1, 2007
• Spallumcheen $1650 (6.23%) 6.42% by population Nord effective Dec 1, 2007
• Lumby $464
• Area "B" $1457 (5.5%) 7.8% by population Nord effective Dec 1, 2007
• Area "C" $1638 (6.2%) 5.1% by population Nord effective Dec 1, 2007
• Area "D" $661
  
• Area "E" $182
• Area "F" $1509 (5.69%) 5.75% by population Nord effective Dec 1, 2007

Total $26,500. Total NORD POPULATION: 77,301

Distribution method unclear. If by latest population on NORD website site then Vernon is overcharged by $1,424. (Perhaps due to Population includes people residing on Indian Reserve in areas "F" and "B" ??)
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http://www.rdosmaps.bc.ca/min_bylaws/contract_reports/CorpBd/2009/03Feb26/3_1_1StarlingContol.pdf 2008 results of starling control.