24-02-2003, 10:03 PM
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Sparrows Devouring Lettuce Plants!
In article ,
(Fleemo) wrote:
Yesterday I planted some lettuce seedlings in the garden, only to find
them serving as a tempting salad for the birds. I found several
Rufous-crowned Sparrows devouring my lettuce plants this morning. I
had no idea the birds were herbacious! Fruits and nuts, sure. But
lettuce?
Sparrows are omnivoris & will eat ants, caterpillars, worms, thistleheads,
berries, chickweed, grass-seed, & tender lettuce. The latter isn't their
favorite, though, & they MIGHT not be so much eating it as clipping it
into lengths to line & soften nests, in which case they will stop as soon
as they are brooding.
-paghat the ratgirls
I've taken great pains to welcome birds into my garden, providing
food, water, and shelter, but I would like to keep my vegetable garden
in tact as much as possible. How can I prevent them from devouring my
lettuce? I tried hanging an audio CD from a string, which was a
recommended method of scaring them out of my raised beds, but it had
no effect on them. Any suggestions?
--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/
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