Simple, Effective Bird Deterrent--Finally!

[danielamartindm]

Originally Posted by danielamartindm

Pursuant to my previous post, this is a short video of the osprey kite that I installed on my dock. I don't know if the birds will wise up, but a flock of four nearby gulls took one look at it, gave warning cries, and flew away like chickens with the Colonel after them.

As a follow-up: This morning, with the egret kite flapping its wings above, a great blue heron strutted up to me on the dock (maybe the kite's telescoping pole resembled a fishing pole from far away), a ground dove (the "Einstein" of the avian world) calmly took refuge from a rain shower under my porch not twenty feet away, and sea gulls flew circles around the kite, looking to play. How loud is that "Murphy's Bird Bane?"

[tarian]

Not sure if this has been mentioned but a few boats around me have plastic owls sitting in their rigging and the local restaurant as well, and they are pretty clear from the flying poo poo

[senormechanico]

My neighbor's house has a plastic owl on the roof peak.
It kept birds off his roof for about a week or so.
Now, seagulls, crows and even a bald eagle have been seen perching within a foot of the fake owl.

[tarian]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

My neighbor's house has a plastic owl on the roof peak.
It kept birds off his roof for about a week or so.
Now, seagulls, crows and even a bald eagle have been seen perching within a foot of the fake owl.

Maybe hes throwing a party for his friends

[redhead]

We have found this to be the best deterrent, period. Unfortunately, he/she is reluctant to sign up...

[JPA Cate]

There are lots of those guys you don't want having supper at the masthead. We found that the spiky "lightning brush" Jim made has discouraged the larger birds from perching up there.

Jim is having to wash off the solar panels from a seagull violation this morning. I can certainly understand the desire to discourage them.

Ann

[redhead]

We were inundated in seagull crap for 3 years and when this eagle took up residence for the afternoon - problem solved!

We've since taken up residence closer to some other boats and don't get "strafed" by the seagulls so often now - quite rarely thank the powers that be...

[44'cruisingcat]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

In the last two years I can count on one hand the amount of times I've had to clean a single bird **** off our boat.

Living aboard and using the boat is probably the answer
Or the cat

Ditto. Cats are pretty good at keeping the swallows away.

[JPA Cate]

^^^^I'm sure that's true, but the really horrid poops are not the tiny swallows' leavings, but guys who eat fish, and cast white and green poo with bones and scales in it. .....Oops, sorry if that was a little too graphic, but that poo is caustic and sticks to sail covers like ---oops, better not say that, either, but, hm, let's try "pervasively."

Little feathered friends, my little flat feet!


Ann

On edit: However, I do have to say that a cat has a lot of friendship to offer, and a ball bearing mousetrap is also a good bird (and some snakes) deterrer.

A.

[44'cruisingcat]

Yes, there's a carpark in Manly, with light poles the pelicans like to sit on. Add a sea breeze, and well, it's amazing how far a little can go.

But hundreds of swallows sitting on the lifelines, and nesting in your mainsail can make quite a mess too.

[billdomb]

Originally Posted by tarian

Our boat yard here in the sticks of Scotland has a large loudspeaker system, which emits , distress calls of birds and calls of raptors , not new, has been done for years in farmers fields as well.

So, where does one GET these recordings???

[Paul Howard]

Stringing light monofilament fishing line around the boat works for seagulls and cormorants, too. I kept a fishing reel on the boat and when leaving the boat I would crisscross the boat with four or five lines, looping around stantions and over the boom, around the roller furling, etc. Birds would hover, but not land, as they knew there was something there but did not risk harm to themselves by landing.
Another thing I did was to cut garbage bags into strips across the width and cow-hitch to the lifelines. the wind would make them flap and make a crinkling noise and birds stayed away.

[allene222]

We had a terrible problem with pigeons and starlings. Neither are protected but you can't use a gun or slingshot in our city. I tried plastic hawk, rubber snakes, and bird calls. The bird calls were calls and not distress noises so perhaps not fair. None of these things worked. Stringing line from the mast to the aft of the boom kept them off the boom. What finally worked is replacing the life ring holder that was the nest for the starlings and trapping the pigeons. I inquired what they did with the pigeons they trapped and the reply was that the birds participated in the rehabilitation of hawks. The marina hired the trappers.

[Martkimwat]

Originally Posted by Bruce K

I have had a Simple,Effective Bird Deterrent (SEBD) and it has the advantage of silence! A dead seagull, laminated between two sheets of clear adhesive plastic, simply lying flat on my roof. Said SEBD needs to be replaced occasionally because UV gets to the plastic. I get occasional "fly overs" by gulls looking and squarking, but they never land. Dead seagulls are easily obtainable by applying small steel balls elastically propelled.

Here in UK it is illegal to kill Gulls as they are protected and you can be heavily fined

[Captain Kev]

What I learned from a direct hit lightning strike and pooping birds.

After a direct hit from a lighting bolt, I had to have every filling in my mouth replaced, rewire the boat and replace all electronics. Still can't spell very good but no more lighting strikes. After MUCH study, I gave streamers 72 places to begin. Streamers go up from the surface from a conductive source to provide lighting a path to travel to Earth. I used aircraft safety wire. I cut about one foot lengths and wrapped one end securely to the head of the mast. About 15 on the mast head and the rest scattered high on the standing rigging where it would not interfere with the sails. During a really bad dry lighting storm at Indian Rocks Beach, Florida, I looked up to see 10, 20, I don't know maybe 50 streamers flowing up from most of these lengths of wire. Because they are very short streamers due to the many paths, there is little chance of getting hit by lightning. I'm convinced that my boat is the safest place to be in a lighting storm.

One side effect is that I have NO birds around my boat, ever! I have seen birds try to land on the mast head to find no safe place to land because of the dangling short strands of wire.

Two problems solved, but it cost me lots of money at the dentist.