Gene et al: But let's be clear about the fact that the *starlings* are
not to blame here! The fault (and you alluded to this, Gene) lies with
the farmers who apparently used this material *illegally*. Of course
this illegal use is very common in the "farming/ranching community", and
there are seldom reprisals, and I will be surprised if there are any in
this case. I collected Dunlin in Samish Bay in the early '80's; they
were laced with DDT to an extent that could be explained only by recent
local use; those guys still have those materials stockpiled, I'm sure.
And they use them at will, or at least some of them do. In the case of
starlings, the Animal DAmage Control personnel trap them around dairies,
and poison them with something called DC-1339 -a relatively safe
material. Why would anyone use something that would also take eagles?
Steve Herman

Steven G. Herman
The Evergreen State College
Olympia WA 98505
(360) 866-6000, ext.6063
943-5751 (home)
hermans at elwha.evergreen.edu