Mockingbirds and Christmas Balls

[jenn_sc]

Of course I was exaggerating when I said the birds' days might be numbered.

I'm incredibly frustrated with them picking on "Chip" the house wren, and now eating tomatoes, but I'm not going to shoot them! (I might daydream about it a time or two but that's about it )

And I'm well aware of the laws concerning native songbirds...in fact, I've been considering becoming a licensed rehabber, b/c I've raised and released A LOT of baby birds (and a squirrel or two) and I used to manage an aviary with many species of parrots, most of which I handfed from unfeathered little chicks.

So no, I won't be shooting anything if I can help it.

I MIGHT consider trapping and releasing them elsewhere (also illegal, I'm sure) A bird breeder friend of mine trapped and relocated an owl that was threatening his Eclectus nest boxes, as well as preying on the birds at his feeders. He knew it was illegal, but there were nightly murders going on

Jennifer

[duajones]

Mockingbirds were so much of a pest last fall, I had actually decided that in the spring, I would take out a few if necessary with my air rifle. And although I saw plenty and still have many that come to the yard, they didnt touch my tomatoes this spring. I guess thats a good thing, as I hadnt even thought about it being illegal to shoot them. With several of my neighbors being birders, I may have dodged a bullet.

[bcday]

To answer Feldon's question, here's just one online article about how farmers deal with birds:

http://www.newhouse.com/feathered-fo...farmers-4.html

Note that they point out, "Killing most birds is not an option". And I'll add, neither is trapping and transporting them.

The blueberry farmers around here use propane cannons as noisemakers. In case you're wondering, the cannons only make noise, they don't actually shoot anything!

The fact that mockingbirds are not rare in some places makes no difference, nor does it matter if people don't notice them migrating. They are protected regardless everywhere in the USA, along with all the other birds on that long list in the link I posted earlier.

[shelleybean]

Well, if anyone wants to try the Christmas balls, use the plastic ones. They may fade a little in the sun but I tried some glass ones last summer and with the first heavy rain, all the red washed off and I was left with silver Christmas balls, which of course, don't do much good.

[dcarch]

I have lot's of birds in the neighborhood. In anticipation of bird problems, I decided to try everything. All-out warfare!

I bought rubber snakes, plastic owls, ultrasonic generators, Christmas balls, and a CD with birds-of-prey recordings.

Well, a couple of years of growing, not one thing was used, and not one bird touched any tomatoes.

I think that's because of I am planting everything so dense; you can hardly see any tomatoes under all those leaves.

Who knows. So far so good.

dcarch