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The Common Black Bird, kill or let live

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JohnDe

La dolce vita
Joined
11 March 2020
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In the past 10 years the common black bird has moved into our suburb. They are an invasive species, make a mess of our garden and pot plants, digging and spreading dirt and debris everywhere. They nest in places that cause issues, and I think they take over the nest of other birds.

I want to eradicate them from my yard, using my trusty air-rifle.

My adult son is against this, telling me it’s cruel.

In my youth I wouldn’t have thought twice about it, I would have done the dead on the same day. But now I have grown soft, and torn between ‘live and let live’, and getting rid of the pest.

What is the forum users view?
 
Here are some ways to get rid of blackbirds:
  • Use visual deterrents: Shiny objects or reflective tape can create movement and light flashes that scare off blackbirds.

  • Use predator decoys: Fake hawks or owls can mimic the presence of natural threats and discourage blackbirds from settling in your area.

  • Cover fence posts: Cover fence posts with bird deterrents to remove potential perching spots.

  • Use bird spikes: Install bird spikes on horizontal surfaces facing upward to discourage birds from landing.

  • Remove food sources: Remove access to potential food sources to discourage birds from flocking to an area.

  • Cover garbage: Put locks on your compost, trash, and recycle bins.

  • Use bird netting: Block birds from rafters or beams with bird netting or bird slope.

  • Remove dead or dying trees: Remove dead or dying trees from your property that double as grackle roosts.

  • Use stakes and string: Place multiple stakes around seedlings with lines of string between them to prevent blackbirds from digging in your garden.
Blackbirds are protected by migratory bird laws, so you can't kill them, destroy their eggs, or destroy their nests.
 
I have tried a few of those suggestions, they work for a few weeks and then are ignored.

I’m not sure that you have the right blackbird, the one I’m talking about is an introduced species that competes with the native species.


PEST BIRD FACT SHEET
SPECIES PROFILE - COMMON BLACKBIRD

Common Name: Common Blackbird
Scientific Name: Turdus merula 27

Distribution & habitat

Breeds in Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to Australia and New Zealand.

 Introduced to Australia at Melbourne in the 1850s.
 Most often found in urban areas and surrounding localities, but has successfully moved into bushland habitats.

 It is often seen in orchards, vineyards and gardens, as well as along roadsides and in parks.

 Habitats with exotic flowering plants can be preferred by introduced bird species such as the Common Blackbird.

Feeding
 Eats insects, earthworms, snails, spiders and a range of seeds and fruit.
 Mainly forages on the ground, probing and scratching at leaf litter, lawns and soil.

Breeding
 Breeds from September to January.
 Common Blackbirds build a cup-shaped nest of dried grass, bound with mud, and lined with fine grasses.

 The nest is usually placed in a tree, shrub or low bush, but they will also use tree hollows.

Living with humans
 The Common Blackbird can be a pest in orchards, parks and gardens, being rather destructive of ground vegetation,
particularly backyard vegetable patches.

 Blackbirds have also been implicated in the spread of weed species including blackberry, bitou bush and boneseed.

 They are aggressive and compete with native species for food and nesting sites.

Control options

 Habitat Management: Reduce nest site availability, Nest destruction, Limit availability of food, Plant native vegetation,

Exclusion
Lethal: Trapping, Egg oil

For further information see ‘Pest Birds - Potential Control Options’ fact sheet
 
Bang, bang, bye bye black bird.
If they are crows then they may be a protected species in your Sate.
They unfortunately are here in WA.
But as is the case there are always ways around these annoying problems.
 
@JohnDe I would have thought that since this pest is an introduced one then it is fair game to dispose of it.
 
As far as I know it is illegal to kill blackbirds. Anyone doing so should make sure that they do not miss as they are very territorial and have long memories for danger around their nesting sites. Consider them as you would a magpie although the blackbird's spread is worse than the magpie. They take over other bird's nesting areas and swoop on animals or humans which are a danger to them while nesting.

I don't envy you having this problem as nosey parkers or people who like blackbirds will dob you in if you are seen shooting them. Blackbirds are quite destructive to your garden and other wildlife and the measures suggested in other posts for getting rid of them don't work or are too onerous, e.g translocation of a mob of them. The other problem living in suburbia with blackbirds is that people within 20 or 30 metres of your residence may be feeding them unknown to you. Shooting people who attract these pests to your suburb is also illegal.

I personally would try and live with them to be honest particularly living as you do, in a suburb where definitive measures to be rid of them are difficult to undertake.

gg
 
I
I feel your pain.

We had a spread down in Mornington Peninsula some years ago, where I had a big veggie garden.

It was a constant battle with the blackbirds... I took it as an intellectual challenge to protect my crop. The little blighters are smarter than you think
 
Hmmmm quitely trapping and then disposing of them. No noise and no follow-up perhaps
 
frugal.rock said:
Is it a crime to put lead into a turd bird?
Click to expand...

It has been mentioned on this thread, but it appears that in most states the bird is a pest and not protected.


Legal requirements
The blackbird is not a prohibited or restricted invasive animal under the Biosecurity Act 2014, however everyone has a general biosecurity obligation (GBO) to take reasonable and practical measures to minimise the biosecurity risks associated with invasive animals under their control
 
In that case trap and dispose and repeat until the pest is gone!!!!
 
farmerge said:
@SirRumpole Roos a bit different in our case anyway. get the necessary vermin tags (25) at a time and a head shot and then dog meat and the hides go to wherever.
Click to expand...
Have you been affected by the new WA gun laws? Every gun owner I know that's far has been.
 
wayneL said:
Have you been affected by the new WA gun laws? Every gun owner I know that's far has been.
Click to expand...
@wayneL The new laws don't affect me as such, but I can have firearms if I choose to keep them.
But earlier this year decided to hand them in.
I use a very competent professional roo shooter to keep the numbers down, along with feral cats, stray dogs, rabbits and foxes.


A tad warm this arvo Wayne 41.4 an hour ago.
 
Worse tomorrow they reckon... and I have to work. Though I will become a conscientious objector at some stage.
 
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