The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development's annual European starling surveillance program is proving successful in controlling the destructive pest along the South Coast with a low number of birds detected in the 2025-26 season.
European starlings are a declared pest in Western Australia (WA) with an ongoing control program operating along the South Coast to prevent starlings from establishing.
They are an agricultural pest which consume and spoil livestock feed and wool, as well as severely impacting horticulture crops. They also damage property, industry and infrastructure with their roost and nest sites and can cause considerable nuisance generating high levels of noise by large roosting flocks.
DPIRD undertakes annual trapping, surveillance and eradication activities across the Esperance and Eucla areas to ensure the bird pest does not establish populations in WA.
For the 2025-26 season 54 birds were detected, a substantial decrease from the 226 detected in 2024-25.
DPIRD Senior Biosecurity Officer Darren Dixon said the reduction in the number of birds trapped this season demonstrated the success of the department's ongoing work to prevent starlings from establishing in WA.
"Engagement with landholders for trapping and surveillance activities as been a key part of the program's success,' Mr Dixon said.
"This season we engaged with over 70 landholders to host traps across a wide area between Esperance and Eucla.
"I would like to thank landholders for their continued support which is a vital part of the State's defence to protect our agriculture and horticulture industries by ensuring European starlings do not establish populations in WA."
Mr Dixon said a number of surveillance and tracking methods including traps, satellite tracking devices, landholder reports and automated acoustic devices were used to track and manage starlings.
"The use of satellite tracking devices is providing good information on the movement of the bird pests to help locate any new populations and enable us to adapt operational activities as needed to target certain areas," he said.
"We are also using cutting edge-computing acoustic surveillance devices to provide additional, real-time, surveillance and notification of incursions.
"These devices are placed in high-risk starling habitat, constantly listen for starling-specific calls and notify DPIRD if a starling is detected in the area."
Starlings are small, plump birds with glossy black feathers have an iridescent green and purple sheen and a blackish-coloured beak turns yellow in spring when they are mating.
They are very social birds, frequently living alongside people and may be seen perching and preening in prominent places, such as powerlines, building roofs, and aerials. Starlings are also often seen around grain storage and feedlots and perching on the back of livestock.
More information on European starlings is available by visiting dpird.wa.gov.au/starlings
