Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Ornitrol: Recent Developments, M. R. Woulfe

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

This talk today will be on recent developments with Ornitrol. All the recent developments have been with blackbirds and grackles; and, unfortunately, the man who has done the most recent work is sitting right here, so I can't steal his data very well!

We have done some work since I spoke to you last on some of the pharmacol¬ogy of SC-12937--which is an axocholesterol the active ingredient of Ornitrol. One of these developments is the determination of the half-life of SC-12937, which is 28 days. This is the reason, we feel, for its prolonged activity in birds. It is stored …

Sampling Of Corn To Assess Bird Damage: A Preliminary Review Of A Comprehensive Study, Philip Granett, John T. Linehan

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

"How large a sample is needed to survey the bird damage to corn in a county in Ohio or New Jersey or South Dakota?" Like those in the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife and the U.S.D.A. who have been faced with a question of this sort we found only meager information on which to base an answer, whether the problem related to a county in Ohio or to one in New Jersey, or elsewhere. Many sampling methods and rates of sampling did yield reliable estimates but the judgment was often intuitive or based on the reasonableness of the resulting …

Photoperiodic Control Of The Testicular Cycle In The Eastern Red-Winged Blackbird, (Agelaius Phoeniceus Phoeniceus), Joel T. Kerlan

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

The annual testicular cycle of many avian species which reside in temperate zones can be divided into two stages: the recrudescent stage and the regressive stage. The recrudescent stage is characterized by an increase in testis size which reflects the transition from an aspermatogenic condition to a spermatogenic condition. At the end of the breeding season, the birds enter the regressive stage. During this period a marked decrease in testis weight and volume indicates the return to an aspermatogenic condition. This stage is maintained until the next spring when presumably the increasing photoperiod induces gonadal recrudescence. If the birds are …

Physiological Interpretations Of Morphological Variation In The Red-Winged Blackbird, Dennis M. Power

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

A number of widespread species vary morphologically throughout their range. Ultimately such geographic variation appears to be adaptive and represents local evolutionary responses to the pressures of natural selection. Detailed knowledge of size, shape and color variation in species such as the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) may eventually allow the identification of breeding localities of autumn and winter flocks simply from morphological evidence. Knowledge of variation in behavioral and physiological parameters also will be useful in assessing the effect of various control devices.

The present study stems from an attempt to elucidate the adaptive significance of geographic variation of redwings …

Serum Calcium Levels Of The Red-Winged Blackbird (Agelaius Phoeniceus), Tim Burkholder

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Serum calcium levels were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry during different stages of development of the Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). The effects of the reproductive cycle, growth, and soil calcium on mean serum calcium levels in this species were analyzed as were the effects of mean serum calcium levels on eggshell thickness, hatchability, and egg production.

The Effects Of Ornitrol On Wild Populations Of Red-Winged Blackbirds And Grackles, Robert C. Fringer, Philip Granett

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

For the past three years the New Jersey Department of Agriculture, in coop¬eration with the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, has conducted field evaluations on the effects of reproductive suppressants on wild populations of red-winged blackbirds. These studies have been performed in conjunction with the North East 49 (a Federally sponsored regional project which presently has nine states in the North East and Ohio cooperating to develop means to combat bird damage to agricultural crops) regional project on control of bird depredations.

Field evaluations in 1968 and 1969 centered around the effects of TEM (tri-ethylene melamine) on the reproductive rates …

Red-Winged Blackbird Movements On Lake Erie Islands, Mildred Miskimen

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

What I am going to say this afternoon is based entirely on field observations. As I said, this is a progress report. Maybe in another five or ten years I shall have enough data so that I can come back and show you something more detailed. The area with which we are dealing is the archipelago that runs across between Ottawa county, Ohio, and Ontario, Canada. I have not done any work on Point Pelee, but I have worked on Pelee Island, on all of the U.S. islands, and along the North shore around Sandusky bay. What I am considering …

Studies On The Movements Of Blackbirds And Starlings In The West End Of Lake Erie, Maurice L. Giltz, Harold E. Burtt

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

The operation of decoy traps at The North Central Farm, Vickery, Ohio, the Ottawa-Crane Creek-McGee Marsh Area, and on the Bass Islands in Lake Erie, has permitted the banding of thousands of Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus), Common Grackles (Quiscalus quiscala), Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater), and Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). The repeats and returns of these banded birds justify inferences concerning the sex and age ratios in the populations and the stability of the populations, as well as indicating the seasonal migrations and movements of the populations.

Territorial Male Red-Winged Blackbird Distribution In Wood County, Ohio, M. I. Dyer

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Red-winged blackbirds (Agelaius phoneiceus) have been studied intensively in the United States and Canada by research biologists of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife for more than a decade. The detailed information on popula¬tion dynamics of the species that has been acquired is now being assembled and assessed. Definite patterns in the distribution of some of the eastern and mid-western populations have become apparent (Dyer et al., 1072; Power, 1069, 1970). A very complex distribution of territorial densities occurs in the western Lake Erie Basin of the U.S. and Canada (Dyer et al., 1972), where there are significant differences …

1969 Assessment Of Blackbird Depredations On Field Corn In Ohio And Michigan, Ronald D. Ogden

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

In 1966, when the annual damage survey was initiated, Dr. C. R. Weaver, Statistician at the Ohio Agriculture Research and Development Center, Wooster, Ohio, drew up a sampling plan, balancing costs against desired precision. The plan included three combinations of fields to be sampled and stations per field for high damage areas, three combinations for moderate damage areas, and two combinations for light damage areas. Alternatives for the high damage area included (1) 497 fields with two stations per field (± .48), (2) 775 fields with two stations per field (± .26), and (3) 235 fields with ten stations per …

Food Choice Behaviour, R. G. B. Brown

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Since 1965 the Canadian Wildlife Service has been concerned with the damage which birds cause in the orchards and vineyards of the Niagara fruit belt, in southern Ontario. My own contribution to this programme has been to collect information on the feeding be¬haviour and ecology of the birds concerned, and use this to test the effectiveness of various control systems. For the purposes of this seminar, I shall only deal with the damage which Robins do to sweet cherries. Here, I was particularly interested in whether it was possible to develop a "bird-proof cherry variety, which would settle the problem …

Experimental Control Techniques Using Avicide 3, Chloro-P-Toluidine, Glenn R. Dudderar, John W. Nelson

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Bird depredations in Virginia have been estimated by the Extension Service, State Department of Agriculture, and the Division of Wildlife Services to be approxi¬mately $5,000,000 annually. As part of a continuing program to reduce this damage, these agencies have tested certain experimental techniques using the avicide, 3, chloro-p-toluidine, chosen for its relative selectivity, low secondary hazard, and slow action. The situations in which the avicide was tested were feedlots, decoy crops, roost reduction, and pigeon control.

Sonic Systems For Controlling Bird Depredations, William D. Fitzwater

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

The sounds used in controlling bird depredations can be classified into three types:

(1) AUDIBLE DISTURBING NOISES: From clapping of hands by primitive peoples to the modern exploding shotgun shells, loud noises have long been used to frighten birds from man's crops. They are still a valuable supplement to other methods or when needed for short, discontinuous periods.

(2) ULTRASONICS: Sounds over 20,000 cps are apparently beyond the limit of birds as well as humans. There is no effective use of ultrasonics in bird control as yet.

(3) BIOSONICS: While song is a more noticeable facet of bird communication, the …

The Dickcissel: A Problem In Ripening Grains In Latin America, Jerome F. Besser, John W. De Grazio, Kenneth H. Larsen

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Bird damage to crops in Latin America--from Mexico to Venezuela and Colom¬bia-is chiefly caused by fringillids, icterids, and psittids (De Grazio and Besser, 1970). Damage to grains such as rice and grain sorghum by various fringillids-sometimes re¬ferred to as "chisguas" by local landowners-is especially troublesome. The fringillid most often implicated in major problems is the dickcissel (Spiza americana).

Dickcissels are not known to cause serious damage problems within their breed¬ing range, which is chiefly the prairies and hay meadows of the central United States. In August, small postbreeding flocks congregate, and by September and October these coalesce into much larger …

The Use Of Detergent Spraying In Bird Control, Richard N. Smith

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Four years ago we started out with the premise that we could cause morta¬lity in blackbirds with detergents. The first system used was a stand pipe where wetting agents mixed with water were pumped to aerial sprayers. Birds were then driven through the spray curtain. During two years of operation with three or four tests few successes were encountered, for it was difficult to get birds to go through a curtain of spray in any numbers. At the same time people in the research division were using large airplanes in making applications and they were having some success using airplanes …

Research Panel Discussion, John Seubert

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Panel Members: Morley R. Kare, Robert G. Schwab and M. R. Woulfe

Nonbiolog1cal Alteration Of 3-Chloro P-Toluidine Hydrochloride (Drc-1339) In An Aqueous Solution, T. R. Darden, Robert G. Schwab

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

The effectiveness of 3-chloro p-toluidine (DRC-1339) as an avicide, particular¬ly on the European starling, has been adequately demonstrated (DeCino, Cunningham, and Schafer, 1966; Schwab, 1965, 1966, and 1967). Methods of applying the com¬pound which have proved useful range from the standard baiting technique (Besser, Royall, and DeGrazio, 1967; Royall, DeCino, and Besser, 1967; West, 1968) to pos¬sible aerial application of the compound to roosting sites (Schwab, 1967). These methods, particularly the latter, inherently lead to widespread environmental exposure. As the chemical name implies, DRC-1339 is a chlorinated hydrocarbon. It thereby carries the stigma, whether justifiable or not, of environmental persistence …

Laboratory And Field Studies With An Avian Repellent For Sprouting Seeds, F. R. Frank, Edward W. Schafer Jr., Joseph L. Guarino

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Development of safe bird management techniques has become necessary for the economic survival of many parameters of agriculture. Competition between man and birds for resources has always occurred but has become increasingly complex as the human population increased. As man's demand for additional food and fiber has required more intensive cultivation of arable land, certain birds have caused in¬creasingly costly losses. Bird damage has become so severe in some areas that till¬age of certain crops is threatened.

In some situations, troublesome bird populations can be reduced to tolerable levels; however, the primary objective of bird management should be the alleviation …

Outlook For Ornitrol, M. R. Woulfe

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

My comments at this point will concern the application and uses of Ornitrol. My comments are aimed at people who are engaged in actual control work, people in public health departments and PCO's.

Ornitrol is a chemosterilant--one of the first ones which has been registered for sale. It inhibits egg production apparently in most avians. We know it does this in pigeons, sparrows, grackles, blackbirds, and chickens. It is reasonable to assume that it will do this in many other species, and this generalized action is one of the reasons why it has got to be handled very carefully where …

Bird Control In Cultivated Blueberries, John W. Nelson

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

In 1969 and 1970, with cooperation with Mr. Bill Shake of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, attempts were made to assay the actual dollar damage done to a blueberry planting and what affect the carbide gun, BioSonics taped scare call and Av-Alarm electric sound device had on control of bird damage. Both the BioSonic and Av-Alarm units were battery operated and photo cell controlled to turn on and off automatically. These features are of great importance to the blueberry grower who is faced with a shortage of labor and increasing labor cost. It was necessary to select fields several …

Bird Depredation On Rice And Other Grains In Arkansas, Robert A. Pierce

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

In Arkansas, blackbirds are responsible for appreciable damage to rice, grain sorghum, oats, wheat, rye, and corn. By far, the greatest damage is to rice. As is shown in the following table, the losses to rice producers amounted to an estimated $3,049,055 in 1968, the last year that a survey was made. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of this loss was to standing rice destroyed and to the cost of bird control measure in standing rice. The remaining losses ($2,140,320 ) are to seeding or to efforts to control bird depredations to new seeding, (see Table 1).

Blackbird damage to grain sorghum …

A Municipal Bird Control Project, James Steckel

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

The subject I was asked to talk about this morning is Municipal Bird Control. Our organization was asked approximately a year ago by a rather high level income urban municipality lying adjacent to Columbus, Ohio, a bedroom community so to speak, to come into their area to do a commercial bird control project. The problem species was pigeons. The community was having a blight. Real estate sales in the town had dropped off as a result of the pigeon problem. The taxpayers were getting together and had been harassing the council for about six months to do something about the …

The Relationship Of Bird Habitats To Disease Producing Fungi, Robert Weeks

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Two fungi, Cryptococcous neoformans and Histoplasma capsulatum, which are pathogenic to some animals and humans, are found in association with the habitats of birds. This association will be discussed by a review of Cryptococcosis and C. neoformans in association with pigeons and their habitats, reviewing histoplasmosis and relating the experience of the Soil Ecology Unit Mycoses Section in Kansas City with H. capsulatum associated with blackbird and starling roosts during the past nine months of this year.

National Survey Of Blackbird-Starling Roosts, John S. Webb, Willis C. Royall Jr.

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

The 1969-70 nationwide winter inventory of blackbird-starling roosts and populations was conducted during the period December 20-January 31 by the Division of Wildlife Research, U.S. Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife. The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center coordinated the survey for the East (31 States), and the Denver Wildlife Research Center for the West (17 States). Success depended on extensive cooperation from many sources: Bureau agencies, especially the Division of Wildlife Services; other Federal and State conservation and agricultural departments; the Audubon Society; ornithological clubs; and individual bird students.

In all, 674 roosts were reported-—262 in the East and 412 in …

The Avitrol Program In Ohio, Richard N. Smith

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

In 1970 a larger program was mounted. At the time it was started we did not know what the registration situation was going to be, but organization began in April. In late June we found out that the material would be available. We expanded the program under the assumption that one man could adequately supervise 6,000 acres of corn. More realistically we found that one man could supervise about 3,000 acres. Plans were initiated in March, when time schedules were set up, County Agents had meetings with farmers to explain the program, and we left it with the farmers to …

Trapping Feral Pigeons, J. O. Bull

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

When I look at the multitude of pests and diseases you have here in the United States, it is a miracle to me that you are still alive today. The United King¬dom is fortunate in having very few bird pests in urban areas. We have the English Sparrow, the starling, and the feral pigeon. We are also a nation of bird lovers, with a large number of organizations that look after the welfare of wild birds. So, we in pest control have to be very careful in our control procedures.

Now let me move along to our feral pigeon trapping …

Bird Hazards To Aircraft, Victor E. F. Solmon

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

When I spoke to the third Bird Control Seminar in 1966 on "Ecological Control of Bird Hazards to Aircraft", I reviewed what we had accomplished up to that time. I spoke about the extent of the problem, the bird species involved and the methods we used to make the airports less attractive to birds that created hazards to aircraft.

I wish to discuss today our accomplishments since 1966. I have presented a number of papers on the topic including one with Dr. W. W. H. Gunn, in 1967 at a meeting in the United Kingdom, and others in the United …

State Registration And Licensing Regulations: A New Program (Ohio), James Steckel

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

We enacted a bill in Ohio this year, Senate Bill 445, that has to do with the application of pesticides. It is a very wide bill as you would normally look at it with most of the meat going to come from the regulations that are presently being written into it. In other words, the framework was developed and accepted by the two houses in our state legislature and empowered the Director of Agriculture to establish the regulations or the so-called teeth to this bill. The governor signed the bill in June and it became effective in September. The committees …

Bird Management At Airports, Edward R. Ladd

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

In New England, and along the stretch of coastline which starts just south of Canada and goes down through New Jersey, we have half a dozen major or what we call international airports. All but two have bird problems. Most of these airports were built on submarginal land, but what was perhaps some of the best wildlife habitat in the country. So, the birds were there first. When these airports were built, airlines were flying propeller-type aircraft. This type was slow and sluggish compared to the jet aircraft of today. Even though aircraft speeds have increased, the birds still are …

The Role Of Bird Management In Fire Protection, David E. Schneider, Michael W. Fall

Bird Control Seminars Proceedings

Two years ago, Mike Fall and I showed you some ideas we had regarding mod¬ern architecture and bird problems. This year we've switched to considering bird hazards in older frame dwellings and on buildings where a fire hazard may be ap¬parent. During a class project some time ago, I was examining a nest of house sparrows and discovered that these birds incorporated cellulose cigarette filters into their nests. Filters were stripped of their paper wrapping and were apparently used by the sparrows as a substitute for or a supplement to fluffy air-born seeds and seed mat¬erials. The incidence of the …