Date of this Version For decades, blackbird depredation of
sunflower has been a problem. Sunflower growers consistently
place blackbirds in the top tier of problems associated with
growing sunflower in the northern Great Plains. Many non-lethal
tactics have been employed in an attempt to protect ripening
sunflower from foraging flocks of blackbirds. Thinning cattail-
choked wetlands to reduce roosting habitat, using pyrotechniques
to frighten feeding birds, planting Wildlife Conservation
Sunflower Plots to lure bids away from commercial plots,
applying taste repellents, and adapting cultural methods such as
block planting to synchronize ripening are just a few such
tactics. Even so, the numbers of blackbirds migrating through
the northern Great Plains can overwhelm non-lethal techniques.
That is, in some circumstances there are too many blackbirds for
non-lethal techniques to be effective.