The Chilliwack Progress from Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada • Page 70

VALLEY MAGAZINE Wednesday, Feb. 25, 1981 Page Twenty-Nine Heads ARDSA researcli Geese, starlings elusive enemies for farmers honors degree in agricultural economics from the University of British Columbia in 1977. Recently he has been employed as an agricultural economist with a land resource consulting firm in Vancouver and worked with ARDSA projecrts in that capacity. Previously he was a research officer with the B.C. select standing committee on agriculture.

Ted Horbulyk has been appointed head of the research division of the ARDSA (Agricultural and Rural Development Subsidiary Agreement) branch of the provincial ministry of agriculture and food. He will be based in the ministry's Victoria offic. Horbulyk obtained an Farmers are optimistic that a solution will be found, though. "There is certainly no other bird or situation that can ruin a crop faster than starlings," says Dever. QjEL Over Water Wells Ltd.

20 Year Experience Phone (604) 853-2513 viate the problem. With no snow cover, the birds are able to find other sources of food on the ground. Starlings compete with farm animals for food. They particularly enjoy picking the corn seeds out of bunker silos. They then litter the rest of the feed, making it objectionable to the animals.

NOT ALONE Livestock farmers are not alone in the battle against starlings. The birds often attack sweet corn crops when the ears are ripening. The cannery won't accept ears that have been broken into and that means a loss of dollars to the farmer. Tree crops are also susceptible to attack by flocks of starlings. Farmers can deter starlings by screening open areas of their barns and by keeping doors closed as much as possible.

Dever notes there is a starling distress recording available from ministry of agriculture offices. Starlings will generally avoid areas where one of their number is making distress noises. The problem is that starlings become accustomed to the noise and, after a short while, it does not bother them. "It's like the crows who sit on top of the scarecrow," Dever says. Once they realize there is no danger, they come right back." The recording is quite successful in the short term, however and that in itself can be helpful.

Some farmers have had success in trapping the birds, although there is extra work involved in checking the trap and destroying the birds each day. The answer to the starling problem might be a new chemical now in use in some parts of the United States. It is designed to affect the birds without harming crops or other animals. Dever says he is not sure how effective the chemical is or whether it will be a "cure-all" for the starling problem. Free estimates, new modern equipment, drilling in most any terrain, no job too big and no job too small.

Just call us and we'll be more than happy to assist you in planning your water pumping systems. says they did not aniticipate such a serious problem. Terry Dever says Chilliwack's Fairfield Island district and the Vedder River setback areas have been among the hardest hit. Geese are notorious foragers, thriving on grass and young sprouts. That made the young corn crop a prime target.

The geese would attack fields where corn sprouts had reached five to six inches and pull up the entire plant. "They are extremely efficient," says Dever. "They would start at one end of the row and work their way to the other. In half an hour five or six birds could do a lot of damage." Farmers were faced with either absorbing their losses or replanting. The attacks occurred late in the season so replanted crops did not reach ideal maturity before harvest.

Dever says he inspected one eight-acre field that did not appear to be badly hit. Twenty-five per cent of the young corn plants were missing. If the farmer had not replanted, that would have meant a loss of close to $2,000. Even with replanting, the farmer was not able to recapture all his losses because of the immaturity of 25 per cent of his crop. That farmer was relatively lucky though.

Another valley farmer replanted 19 of his 30 acres after geese invaded his crop. While the reduction in the goose enhancement program will help the situation, Dever notes that the geese could still be a problem in the coming year. Fish and wildlife officers will not be bringing any extra eggs into the area, but the flocks will expand naturally. Members of the Chilliwack Fish and Game Club have offered to assist farmers by shooting to scare birds away from local fields. Whether that will be enough to deter the geese is doubtful, Dever says.

Once they have established a good feeding area, they may be very difficult to scare away. Geese are not the only airborne problem facing farmers. "Starlings are definitely the worst of all the birds," Dever says. "They fend for themselves very well and farms are a favorite source of food." Dever is optimistic that the mild winter will help alle- by Barbara Schmidt Efforts to increase the Canada Goose population in the lower mainland last year were perhaps too successful the birds were serious competitors for valley farm crops. Chilliwack district agriculturalist Terry Dever reports that some farmers lost over 50 per cent of their corn crop to the wild birds, necessitating replanting of large acreages.

The problem is attributed to a Fish and Wildlife Branch program to-increase local stocks of geese. It was planned to encourage a population of about 20,000 geese in the lower mainland, a total that would considerably improve hunting opportunities. By the time the population reached 12,000, farmers knew they had a serious problem to contend with. After investigation the wildlife branch reduced its goose enhancement program. Environment ministry conservation officer Jim Rissling says a five-year plan was established to study and stock greater Canada Geese.

Previously there were virtually no greater Canada Geese in the Fraser Valley. A few lesser Canada Geese would stop here during their migration but there were no nesting or wintering sites. The enhancement program was a joint venture of the environment ministry, Canadian Wildlife Service and the B.C. Wildlife Federation. 'SAFE' AREAS Rissling notes that many valley lands are not huntable because of municipal firearms regulations.

The birds quickly learn where the "safe" areas are and that is where they congregate. Initially there was a very stringent, short hunting season on geese but that will likely have to change. When the geese first began attacking farm fields "scare permits" were issued to farmers allowing them to shoot at the birds, hopefully frightening them away. That was not successful though and "kill permits" have been issued to farmers having the most difficulty. Rissling anticipates that the problem will be "with us for a while While the originators of the enhancement program knew there was a possibility the geese might bother farms, Rissling WE OFFER ONE DAY SERVICE IN SOME CASES 1 I WATER WELLS LTD.

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