This may be obvious, but until today I was never sure if Starlings are to blame for bringing invasive English Ivy to my yard.

This winter a Northern Flicker punched a hole in the side of my bat house:



Then this spring a starling built a nest in there. ?I know for sure that it was a starling because I saw it every time I was near the bat house.

Today I looked on the ground under the nest:



There are about 35 English Ivy seedlings below the nest entrance (and none anywhere else nearby). ?I have never had ivy sprout there before.

We have lived here for 24 years. ?I never had any English Ivy in my yard until about 5 years ago. ?Apparently someone in the neighborhood has English Ivy on their property and has let it grow tall enough to flower and seed. ?Starlings are bringing the seeds to my yard (and everywhere else in the neighborhood). ?I mostly find them under larger trees, which the starlings seem to prefer.

If you have non-native invasive plants in your yard, please, please, please do not let them go to seed. ?If you do, you are inflicting grief upon all of your neighbors. ?

If you do not know which plants are invasive, here is a pretty good list:?http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/noxious-weeds/weed-identification.aspx
??
You can prevent English Ivy from flowering and going to seed by not allowing it to climb higher than about 6 feet.




Thanks,

Dave Miller
Camas, WA