From the department of “Now I’ve Heard Everything” comes a story that involves snipers protecting penguins. Seriously. Granted, the snipers are there to shoot foxes that are predating on Little Penguins Eudyptula minor (often called Fairy Penguins in Australia), the world’s smallest penguins, but, still, snipers being used for conservation is pretty darn cool. I’ve got to get to Australia someday, both to see the penguins and to thank the people of Manly, New South Wales, for being such robust conservationists!
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.
Little Penguins have a big following here in Australia. Even if people do not know a great deal about other birds, most people know something about Little Penguins and their colonies. We not only have snipers guarding our Little Pengiuns but on Middle Island off the coast of the state of Victoria, we have Maremma Sheepdogs guarding a Little Penguin colony. Look up that story on the net!
I have been a “conservation sniper” for years, as have some of my friends. I have a .177 caliber pellet air gun, with scope. I blast European Starlings and the occasional House Sparrow that show up in my back yard. My blind is my kitchen window.
I use nontoxic ammunition, since occasionally prey gets away, is taken by Cooper’s Hawks, is lost and then eaten that night by Possums, etc.
The gun I have is made by Gamo, is pretty quiet due to a built-in partial supressor, and doesn’t raise a peep from my neighbors.