Angry owner Verses bad birds

[denny]

In the last 6 weeks Our new Garmin wind vane has been removed by an osprey. not once bur twice ! How can I change my luck or get rid of the
osprey ?????? any help would be appreciated.
Denny on our 38 foot Irwin.

[Cheechako]

I'm sorry, The Ospreys are now protected and your masthead has been established as a critical evironmental area.....
Do you have a masthead VHF antenna? seems like that would discourage resting up there... or you could add one of those anti lightning fuzzy wire things up there right on top....

[Ocean Diamond 2]

Hi Denny,

Down here we sometimes have problems with crows, cockatoos and kookaburras.
Some locals use black cable ties at different angles which anoy the birds, we even see bike riders using black cable ties through their bike helmets to discourage the magpies which dive boom them.
Might be worth a go??
Derek

[markpierce]

Lightening rod and radio antennae seem to dissuade birds from landing on my mast, even if I don't have a wind vane.



Our resident Osprey and their nest:

[zeehag]

in la cruz de huanacaxtle marina i saw rakes placed on mastheads. i didnt know why until i saw osprey and frigates atop other boats bending masthead equipment.
why not place a lawn leaf rake on your masthead also ...it seems to work.

[letsgetsailing3]

Get one that doesn't look like a fish.

[scubascooter]

Here's some plans I found!

[letsgetsailing3]

Oh yea.

Hire some pigs.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by denny

In the last 6 weeks Our new Garmin wind vane has been removed by an osprey. not once bur twice ! How can I change my luck or get rid of the
osprey ?????? any help would be appreciated.
Denny on our 38 foot Irwin.

Osprey love to sit on top of masts. I'm thinking it shouldn't be too hard to rig some kind of arch-type thing to go over the windvane.

This boat came with a broken windvane and that's probably why. I don't have a windvane. It's just a guesstimate anyway.

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

I'm sorry, The Ospreys are now protected...

Actually, at least here in Florida, Ospreys ARE protected. Hence, while there are certainly a variety of things that you can do to discourage the bird, you do need to be careful. Any attempt to shoo it away with pyrotechnics, throwing things at it, any sort of "active" attempts to force it off could well land you into some trouble.

Nonetheless, as Chechako said, I'm thinking one of those fuzzy wire things might do the trick. Good luck, in any case.

[minaret]

Bird spikes are cheap, effective, and very easy to install.


Bird-X SP-10-NR Bird Spikes Kit:Amazon:Patio, Lawn & Garden

[ryderstk]

I had problems with ospreys on my spreaders. I just installed the Bird-X spikes on a 1x2x8 and hauled it up on my spare halyard with a downline. NO MORE BIRDS.... and I have my boat 100 yards from a protected bird sanctuary. Eventually, I will install them directly on the spreaders then next time I go up the mast.

Good Luck

[rebel heart]

I've seen people using plastic rakes. The rake blades need to be soft enough that when the bird sits on them, the blades give, and the others poke the bird. If that makes sense. I thought it was some crazy lightning thing but on closer inspection just realized it was a rake.

[Bash]

Originally Posted by denverd0n

Actually, at least here in Florida, Ospreys ARE protected.

It's actually a matter of international law. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act was amended in 1972 to include raptors such as the osprey. Penalties for common violations can be up to $15,000 USD plus 6 months in jail.

Unfortunately, there's no penalty for misspelling "birds," even when the offense is as egregious as is found in the title of this thread.

[Rakuflames]

Originally Posted by Bash

It's actually a matter of international law. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act was amended in 1972 to include raptors such as the osprey. Penalties for common violations can be up to $15,000 USD plus 6 months in jail.

Unfortunately, there's no penalty for misspelling "birds," even when the offense is as egregious as is found in the title of this thread.

Thank goodness! "Burds" would work too.