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Re: [GWL]: Starlings

One thing garden writers can do to help is enable our readers to
appreciate the complexity of our natural environment. If people were as
careful about trying to "fix" environment problems as they are about
fixing their cars, we'd have a lot fewer environment problems.

I don't love starlings either, but they are very intelligent birds. For
example, they readily imitate other birds' or squirrels' cries. They
work together to drive away a hawk. They are difficult to trap because
they detect the ruse. They become very familiar with human habits, so
they are difficult to outwit.

It wasn't the starlings' fault that a dimwitted human introduced them to
North America. Or that they are smarter than the native birds that
occupy the same niche. Resorting to poison that works its way through an
entire food chain suggests that we humans are still not thinking at the
top of our form..

Starlings, like squirrels, can be discouraged, but mainly by getting to
know their habits. For example, it is difficult for a starling to feed
at a finch feeder because the holes and perches are too small.

Also, the starling would rather eat bread than niger seed, so feeding
only niger seed usually means seeing fewer starlings. But that means
that we have to use our human intelligence to get the right type of
feeder and food.

In a way, combatting the urge to heedless destruction is like combatting
gardening myths. We have a lot of work to do and not a lot of time!

Denyse

--
My book is now available: Faith@Science: Why Science Needs Faith in the
21st Century (J. Gordon Shillingford Publishing, Winnipeg, 2001
US$14.95, CDN $19.95) For more information, go to my site,
www.denyseoleary.com. To order, call Hull's Bookstores, 1 800 461-1365

Denyse O'Leary
14 Latimer Avenue
Toronto, Ontario, CANADA M5N 2L8
Tel: 416 485-2392/Fax: 416 485-9665
oleary@sympatico.ca
www.denyseoleary.com

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