Challenge: Preventing Loons from Roosting on Spreaders

[sarafina]

[Aqua Vitae]

What about those inflatable beach balls with the big eyes on them? Also, I seem to remember a post here or a snippet in a magazine about a guy making the "milk jug monster." It was the economical solution to paying for the beach ball. He just had two zigzag lines going all the way around the bottom as a mouth, and eyes on all sides above that. It was really crude, and makes me laugh out loud just to visualize it. In fact, I wish i had a bird problem just so I could hang one....


Also, I believe cormorants were almost killed off in the 17 or 1800's because they are so easy to kill while their wings are still wet. People clubbed them for food. If you ask me, a pigeon or seagull seems far better tasting than a greasy cormorant.

[sarafina]

Originally Posted by Wilmington Piper

If you ask me, a pigeon or seagull seems far better tasting than a greasy cormorant.

I just love how thread drift around here is so often towards related culinary issues...

Pigeon is excellent eating, but I have *heard* seagull, like most fish eating fowl, is NASTY stuff. The gusto with which my dog goes after gull leads me to believe that it must be really RANK!!

[Chief Engineer]

I put Republican Bumper Stickers up there. Keeps 'em away

[Chief Engineer]

Hit The Mast Again Darn!!!!!

Crack!!!!!......well that powerboater will be peeved

Bonk!!!!!! Just got that DirectTV dish.....

Originally Posted by sarafina

[LakeSuperior]

Originally Posted by bstreep

Researchers have now determined that DDT did NOT nearly wipe out Bald Eagles, Brown Pelicans, etc. The worldwide banning of DDT - for rather less-than-scientific reasons, has resulted in the deaths of millions- yes, millions - of people from malaria.

The fact that DDT continues to be blamed for this, shows how firmly folks will cling to junk science. Just today, the EPA removed the Brown Pelican from the Endangered Species list - citing the discontinued use of DDT. In spite of the numerous studies showing DDT to not cause egg shells to thin, and NONE showing that they do...

Just to admit that I was involved, I was EXTREMELY active in my high school and college days as an environmentalist - and DDT was #1 on my complaint list. I got suckered in with everyone else. I'm a molecular biologist by education.

You have to do better than this. Junk science?? help me understand why I didn't see a bald eagle until the 90s. Help me understand why there were no cormorants on the Great Lakes until the late 90s. Where did they go and what made them come back?? How about a reference here bstreep just your word isn't going to stand!

[sarafina]

Originally Posted by LakeSuperior

You have to do better than this.

He can't do better than this... google DDT and read the first few hits. The one supporting this theory also proposes Lyndon LaRuche as a genius economist...

The arguments for why banning DDT was a good idea are legion and it would be tedious beyond belief to enumerate them here... Besides, they say it better here...

1. DDT - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
   
   The book suggested that DDT and other pesticides may cause cancer and that their ..... The researchers argued that DDT was the best pesticide for use in IRS ...
   Properties and chemistry - History - Environmental impact
   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDT - Cached - Similar
2. The DDT Insecticide Ban... What Was the Truth Behind it?
   
   Jul 31, 2009 ... Deep throat and the 'political decision' to ban DDT.
   Matrix of Mnemosyne—the 'reality plus' websiteddt.htm - Cached - Similar
3. DDT
   
   DDT was the first synthetic pesticide of the modern age. It promised much, but ultimately created widespread concern as an environmental hazard. ...
   www.pan-uk.org/pestnews/Actives/ddt.htm - Cached - Similar

[Hud3]

Let's not hijack ggray's thread, folks. He's trying to figure out how to keep birds off his boat. An argument about DDT is about as off-topic as it gets.

[Roy M]

The monofilament works well. The issue is that the birds think there is a safe place to alight, then something spooks them (something invisible and underfoot) and they go to another place. The birds aren't stupid. They observe, learn and adapt so they can poop longer.

On another note, my stepfather was a chemical engineer, working for Montrose Chemical Corporation, a division of Stauffer Chemical, in Los Angeles in the 50's to the 70's. Montrose was the world's largest producer of DDT. Every night, as part of the production operation, workers would hose down the "pans" containing the day's production of DDT, letting the water drain into the sewer lines. Today, the ocean bottom of the Santa Monica Bay is among the most toxic sites on earth. Bottom studies show a pronounced layer of DDT, now covered by thirty years of silt. Eating halibut and other bottom dwellers is still discouraged due to their high DDT levels. My stepfather used to brag about his having been classified with the highest level of DDT per body mass of any human. After Montrose was shut down, bird populations in the Channel Islands began to climb slowly back. Must have been a coincidence.

[LakeSuperior]

Originally Posted by Hud3

Let's not hijack ggray's thread, folks. He's trying to figure out how to keep birds off his boat. An argument about DDT is about as off-topic as it gets.

Hud3...your job in keeping us on track is kind of like herding cats I expect!

[sarafina]

*Meow*

my bad ; -)

Hey has anyone tried the predator bird form? Owl or Hawk statue or silhouette up on a spreader? Works (somewhat) on houses. Could it be done so as to not snarl the lines and stuff? Like on a radar mount maybe?

[SabreKai]

December 2008 issue of Latitudes n Attitudes had an article about making anti-bird things from old CDs. Basicly take two cds glued back to back with a washer for an eyelet sandwiched between. Hang them off lifelines n boom, they spin round and the shiney light tends to keep birds off.

I have no idea if it works by they say so. They made it a craft project for kids by putting eyes, fins n tails on them to make them look like fish of some sort. Kept the kiddies entertained and then kept the birds away. Maybe putting some up there over the spreaders on a line will work.

Sabre

[ggray]

Just got home, and JACKPOT !
Thanks for all the responses.

The reason I said they were loons is that I was told years ago that the light brown, almost cream colored birds were loons, and the dark black ones were cormorants. I was working on the windlass 2 evenings ago, one part of my mind debating what creature had made such a mess, when SPLAT, I nearly got hit. I saw it was two of these light brown birds, so if someone can identify what they were, thanks.

There is already hardware on the mast I can secure that end of the line to, but at close to 6 inches above the lower spreader. I'll try that before adding new fittings, but there is none above the upper spreader, so I will aim for 2 -3 inches there. I had wondered if such a large bird would require a higher height, so thanks for the input.

And I will prepare cd discs to hang from the lazy jacks to protect the main.

Ah...the slingshot. My first thought was a pellet gun, but I figured that would be a never ending battle.

[FSMike]

A friend of mine used a pellet gun with some success, until he got ready to go on a trip and found he had no mast head lights!

I suggest coating the areas the birds land with ddt.

[Chief Engineer]

Michael Jackson CDs work best