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starlings viciously aggressive tribune june 1 1988 by art br1ggsjude a few weeks ago as we watched some remaining crabapples dis appear to a horde of hungry starl- ings we were reminded of another way in which these alien birds compete with our native species in the early days of their intro duction starlings were looked on with favor in many circles stu dies made and stomach contents examined showed this aggressive new bird to be a superior insect destroyer to the robin or the cat bird in fact bulletin no 808 issued by theus dept of agriculture in 1921 advises this bird be pro tected except in extreme isolated cases of local crop damage however at the time this assessment was made the starl ing had not realized its full poten tial in north america the fact is that when this publication was re leased starlings had only been re ported as far west as lake erie and were being sighted in many places in new york state for the very first time in the years that followed as the starlings quickly colonized one area after another many observers began to voice their concern stop the starlings people cried as they immediately launched shooting and trapping programs to control their spread by then the main objections to this chunky newcomer were all too obvious it was taking over the traditional nesting holes of bluebirds flickers and other cav ity dependent native birds and was swarming into orchards with disastrous results this flocking trait also posed a potential threat to certain ever green groves and windbreaks where ver the noisy birds took up a winter roost at the jack miner goose sanctu ary in southwestern ontario starlings roosted in such huge numbers their droppings overt er- tilized and finally killed all the pines in the plantation stopping the starling as those at the miner reserve found out was a formidable undertaking hundreds of thousands of starl ings were shot there and trucked away in an unsuccessful attempt to save the trees in other places the story was much the same the european starling first reported breeding in ontario at burlington in 1922 was here to stay among the many control methods advocated at that time was one by the same us agency that only a few years before had endorsed the bird it was a long range plan de signed to prevent the starlings eggs from hatching by setting out the lids of large metal drums near known nesting sites these shallow trays were then covered with old crankcase oil and bait such as com was spread on the surface as the starlings fed some of this oil would cling to their legs and breast feathers later at the nest this oil would come in contact with the eggs and stop the embryo development however any effect this method had on controlling the starling was of a local nature and with the birds quickly moving in from the surrounding country side it was soon abandoned today the starling in this coun try continues to increase where ver it can find holes in trees and crevices in buildings to raise its young people putting up nestboxes to relieve the bird housing shortage should remember to keep the holes no larger than 114 inches to prevent the starlings from en tering of course this is not possible with purple martin houses and wood duck nestboxes where other methods to deter these pests have to be employed and the sinister side of the starl ing is only evident when you see it devoring the last stands of persis tent berries in the spring wild fruit that the hard pressed bluebirds and other arriving mig rants need when confronted with a persistent wet cold spell marathoners raise 3000 stouffville three area residents tested their sta mina on the weekend at kel- lingtons restaurant main street west brian meharg faye murphy and louie figliuzzi partici pated in a 12hour dance marathon and raised 3000 for the hospital for sick children toronto the stouffville threesome took to the dance floor at 9 pm saturday and continued through until 9 am sunday with only iominute breaks per hour a 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