Garden Pests and Diseases: Sunflower seedlings severed AND PULLED OUT!, 1 by PAGardenerUSA

PAGardenerUSA wrote:
Usually, when I plant sunflower seeds, the seedlings get chopped off (severed) by some pest (very clean cut) about half-way up the stem. I go outside in the morning to find the severed seedlings laying on the ground next to what is left of the stem. I always find this in the morning, never any other time of day or night.

So I figured this must be a cutworm. Right?

However, today, I found something a little different. I found one my my sunflower seedlings not completely severed about half-way up the stem and the seedling was pulled out root of the ground! Certainly this could not be caused by a cutworm! (Please see attached pictures)

I am thinking that this is being done by a bird whose intention is to get a bug off of the stem and as a result ends up cutting the stem. And in the case of this morning, perhaps the bird had a difficult time getting the bug and ended up pulling the whole plant in the process, but not quite severing the stem with his beak.

My guess is that the bird was trying to get a slug because one of the baby leaves of the seedling does appear to have slug damage on it.

Any help on identifying what's causing this to happen would be appreciated. This severing has also happened to me in past years with other flowers (like nasturtiums and small marigold plants), but never vegetable plants. But never have I seen a partial severing with the seedling pulled completely out of the ground.

This message was edited Jun 11, 2018 1:13 PM