Dick Cannings
Northern Flicker
Northern Flicker a protected native species that may get caught in fruit netting.
Birds do it, bees to it and when spring arrives just about every living thing does it—finding a mate and a place to rear the next generation. The months before then is the best time to make repairs to buildings that might house unwanted summer tenants like starlings, bats and flickers. Native wildlife must be handled differently than the invasive starling so let’s consider each species separately.
The nonnative European Starling is one of the top invasive species in North America. It has adapted to human settings, nesting in houses and other structures as well as natural tree cavities. Starlings have been a factor in the decline of some bird species that also need nest holes, so getting rid of starling nests is a benefit to agriculture as well as local biodiversity.
Starlings are not able to make their own holes so they look for cracks that offer entry into a dry nest hole. Seal up those holes, which are often in high places that can’t be reached by ladder, before the birds start looking for nesting sites.
Another option is to put up a bird box somewhere within reach. If a bluebird or chickadee moves in, great! But if a couple of starling set up their summer home let them build a nest and lay eggs, then destroy the nest to prevent nestlings from hatching. If the starlings start nesting again repeat the procedure.
Starlings nest close together if there are enough holes so it is not uncommon to have several nests within a small area. Starlings feed their young insects, but both juvenile and adult starlings include fruit in their diet in late summer and fall.
As nonnative invasive species, starlings are not protected by the BC Wildlife Act so property owners are encouraged to prevent starlings from breeding successfully.
It is important to recognize that it is illegal to kill or harass native birds and their nests, as detailed in the Migratory Birds Convention Act and the BC Wildlife Act. That’s why is it important to properly set up and monitor netting over fruit crops so that if native birds are caught they are released.
Northern Flickers are beautiful native woodpeckers with flashy orange under-wings. Each pair defends a summer territory and they are not flocking birds, so population numbers and damage to fruit are low.
With their big strong bills they excel in excavating nest holes. Male flickers attract females by using their bills to perform loud “drum rolls” on metal flashing, hollow spaces and chimneys during the spring. These 5 a.m. wake-up calls can be very unwelcome if a flicker is interested in nesting in your house.
One solution is to install an 18-inch flicker nest box with a 3-inch hole, so that the flickers use this rather than making a new hole in your building. Place the box where you can reach it with a ladder in case starlings move in. Have patience –the male flicker will stop his drum rolls once nesting starts.
With habitat loss and fewer old trees for cavities to roost or nest in some native birds and bats have adapted to using human-made structures. We want to discourage some species, but encourage others that need our help. Retaining old trees, called “wildlife trees,” can be a benefit since they provide habitat for owls and raptors that prey on agricultural pests.
Bats play an important role in nature, consuming big quantities of insects, some of which are costly agricultural pests in their larval or adult form. Many insects sense a bat’s echolocation signals and avoid areas where bats are feeding so a healthy bat population is definitely a big plus for agricultural producers.
Loss of habitat, lack of roosting sites, environmental contaminants, and a new fungal disease is affecting North American bat populations, so bats could use some help. Bats use temporary daytime roosts in trees, rock crevices, and human-made structures. Narrow cracks in shingles or siding are favorite roosts. These male bats are unobtrusive and can be left alone. If think you have a maternal colony where a number of females and young roost and their presence is causing a problem, you must seal up the opening after November when the bats have migrated out of the area. You are encouraged to put up a bat house large enough to replace the lost space.
Luckily many orchard and vineyard owners realize the benefits of bats and have erected bat houses on their properties. To learn more about bats and building bat houses visit Bat Conservation International’s web site at www.batcon.org or go to www.osca.org and check out the “Living With Wildlife” and “Wildlife Concerns” pages. The Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance web site has information on many wildlife management and wildlife safety topics. ■
Margaret Holm works for the Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance