Red Wing Black Birds invasive?

[AbAngler]

Can't find the info.... A buddy was telling us over the weekend that Redwing Blackbirds are invasive and that he shoots them. I was surprised and kind of like them but the guy isn't a BSer, so I believe him but can't find anything to confirm....

Are they invasive? Perhaps the more google inclined members could point me to an actual link?

Thanks in advance!

[IR_mike]

Native not invasive.

[Nait Hadya]

starlings perhaps...

[AbAngler]

I guess that would explain why I couldn't find anything to support what he was saying. He's an older rancher, so I had no reason to doubt him. Now I gotta break the bad news to him...

[Pudelpointer]

Blackbirds (the AB regs are not very specific about which species) are legal to be shot, but I would have to ask: why would you (or him)?

Especially Red Winged and Yellow Headed blackbirds. These birds do not harm anything except for eating mosquitoes and insects. What small amount of grain they may eat is beyond minuscule. Even Brown-headed cowbirds, which DO parasitize other songbirds, consume an enormous amount of insect pests in pastures and barnyards.

Confused.

[walking buffalo]

The Wildlife Act lists Redwing Blackbirds as a Non-Licence Animal. It is legal to shoot them. IMO, I can't see a good reason to do so under the pretense of crop damage in Alberta.

ALBERTA REGULATION 143/97
Wildlife Act
WILDLIFE REGULATION

See Section 6 Non Licence Animals

http://www.canlii.org/eliisa/highlig...-143-1997.html

[AbAngler]

Ok, now I'm really confused!

I've always like them, so I was surprised when the old guy said he shoots them.

[KegRiver]

They are not on the species list at http://www.invasive.org

But going by the definitions of an invasive species, they certainly could be considered such.

This line in the definitions could well apply to Red Winged Blackbirds, at times.

"that disrupt by a dominant colonization of a particular habitat"

However, they too can be disrupted by other species such as, believe it or not, Marsh Wrens, and more believably, Yellow Headed Blackbirds.
I suspect that it is because of this that they are not on the invasive species list.

[SammyIam]

Is an invasive specie by definition non-native?

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by SammyIam

Is an invasive specie by definition non-native?

Mostly but not necessarily. Some native species are on the invasive species list.

Mallard Ducks for one. Trumpeter Swans for another. Those two were a total surprise to me, but after reading the definitions I can see why they are on the list.

[KegRiver]

Not to complicate matters, but.

Red Winged Blackbirds are a major crop pest in some parts of the USA.

So far as I know, they are not considered a serious crop pest in Alberta.
However Blackbirds are not a protected species according to the SDR hunting reg pamphlet. Since no species is mentioned I believe that this means all four species of blackbirds can be considered pests and can be shot on private land at any time.

This could be what lead your friend to thinking that RedWings are an invasive species.

[doetracks]

I have a tough time believing that red winged blackbirds are a major crop pest in the U.S.

There were LOADS of grackles and common blackbirds but not many red winged. That was just KS, though.

I like them too. I think the OP's older friend is a victim of old-school thinking. That's just me, though.