Swatted countless starlings in my ruddy-cheeked youth. Sheridan and then really went to town with a FWB 124D. Went full overkill many years ago as I was getting ready to pull my duck decoys and head back to the truck when a handful of starlings passed right over me and my rather bored Chesapeake Bay. Figured WTH and cut feathers on the lead bird. The dog set up on my left as I calmly said, "Mark" as he tracked its trajectory. Sent him out and started to pull decoys from the field as he returned, heeled in nicely and sat down. I looked at him and wondered WTH aloud at how he missed such a simple marked retrieve. At 115# with a blocky head that could easily hold a basketball, I had to look more closely as just the tips of the starling's toes stuck out of his lips.
I'm in deep trouble if a starling is presiding at The Pearly Gates....
