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than dumping it on the ground. If you find a starling nest, destroy it. As a non-native, invasive species, starlings are not


protected by the B.C.Wildlife Act. “If you see a building or area where birds are


nesting, please call us to report the location.We’ll then add it to the inventory of sites needing attention. If you’ve blocked or destroyed starling nests, please let us know howmany,” Bielert said. She can be reached at bcga@nethop.net or visit the


website www/grapegrowers.bc.ca. and click on the ‘contact us’ button in lower right corner. The trapping programis currently carried out by a


teamof four trappers at the average cost of $115,000 annually. The three regional districts of the Okanagan-


Similkameen contribute approximately two-thirds of the costs, with the remainder coming fromthe B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association, Okanagan, Kootenay Cherry Growers’ Association (now known as the B.C. Cherry Association), Okanagan Tree Fruit Co- operative (now known as the B.C. Tree Fruits Co- operative) and the B.C.. Grapegrowers’ Association. Just under 500,000 birds have been captured


from2003 through 2012. Considering that an average breeding pair has eight surviving fledgling per year, it wouldn’t take long before populations returned to pre-trapping levels, if the programwere stopped. This would increase crop losses and increase the cost of bird control to individual growers.


SUSAN MCIVER


Brian Baehr, program manager for Agriculture Environment Initiatives, and Connie Bielert, manager of the Starling Control Program, spoke with growers at this year’s Horticulture Symposium in Kelowna.


14


British Columbia FRUIT GROWER • Summer 2013


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