Tweeters-
My apologies for my sarcastic knee-jerk reaction to the baby starling
question. I have worked in wildlife rehab and know first hand the joys of
caring for young abandoned animals. And I am guilty of bringing an animal
in for rehab, a baby heron, despite my knowledge that death is a part of
life and some coyote may have appreciated it had I ignored the bird.

I realize a few more starlings won't make a difference, but where
to draw the line? I KNOW that some Tweeters
advocate pellet guns and traps for pest birds (I don't do this myself). I
don't have a problem with that, but I have drawn the line *for myself* at
ignoring the pleas of fledgeling starlings and house sparrows in our
neighborhood. And I must admit it is not always easy! Its hard to
reconcile the love for all birds with the need to ignore the needs of
individual birds when they are pests. (baby birds = charismatic
mini-fauna)

Amy Stabins
Seattle
astabins at u.washington.edu

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Amy J. Stabins
College of Forest Resources
University of Washington
astabins at u.washington.edu