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Old 04-11-2006, 06:06 AM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Bower Birds eating vegetables

Does anyone have any experience of bowerbirds eating vegetables
recently?

Two of my friends who have been gardening for many years in different
locations around Sydney tell me that they have been recently having
their gardens attacked by bower birds. The birds are having a big
impact on their productivity.

Has anyone else had this experience?

Does anyone have any suggestions as to why this might be happening
recently?

Has anyone got any suggestions about how to stop bower birds from
eating vegetables?

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Old 04-11-2006, 11:01 AM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Bower Birds eating vegetables

"Joshua Slocum" wrote in message
ups.com...
Does anyone have any experience of bowerbirds eating vegetables
recently?

Two of my friends who have been gardening for many years in different
locations around Sydney tell me that they have been recently having
their gardens attacked by bower birds. The birds are having a big
impact on their productivity.

Has anyone else had this experience?

Does anyone have any suggestions as to why this might be happening
recently?


habitat/feeding site loss? perhaps they have young ones & need more food
than previously? perhaps they just moved in nearby?

Has anyone got any suggestions about how to stop bower birds from
eating vegetables?


well, afaik they prefer fruit, so maybe they should grow some of that & the
veg will be left alone ;-)

more realistically, i put more store on barrier methods more than anything
else for this sort of thing: strong netting, etc.

we're being harrassed by (amongst other things) what they call wingless
grasshoppers - i'm going to have to make chilli or garlic spray, or one of
those foul-tasting concoctions. perhaps these types of things work for birds
also? i'm inclined to think they would.

we were having a great deal of trouble with bowerbirds in the house, because
they are quick learners & knew how & when to come in, & what to go for when
they did come in. i kept the house closed up when i wasn't literally in it,
& now the problem has gone away. whatever solution your friends find,
they'll just have to keep at it for as long as it takes until their visitors
realise there's no use, and go away.
kylie


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Old 04-11-2006, 04:06 PM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Bower Birds eating vegetables

Joshua Slocum wrote:
Does anyone have any experience of bowerbirds eating vegetables
recently?


Are they absolutely sure they are bower birds?
I have trouble with blackbirds and seedlings and have to mesh them over.


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Old 05-11-2006, 03:24 AM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Bower Birds eating vegetables

On Sun, 05 Nov 2006 02:06:19 +1100, Terryc wrote:

Joshua Slocum wrote:
Does anyone have any experience of bowerbirds eating vegetables
recently?


Are they absolutely sure they are bower birds?
I have trouble with blackbirds and seedlings and have to mesh them over.


Heh...

We have either 8 or 10 Spotted bower birds here (near Longreach CW QLD), and
they'll eat anything they like! They will eat the mandarins off the tree, but
leave the side facing the house (which is bloody annoying), they eat the chook
food, they eat lamb protein feed nuts (which are 1.5" and about 1/2" thick),
they eat pineapples, dry cat bikkys, yoghurt, pan drippings, tinned cat food,
bread, you name it.
Another problem is some of the stuff the bower birds nick is to imrpess the
girlfriend. Certain berries, and other objects become preferred favourites for
decking out the love-pad. They will also lay a fan of choice items out in front
of a female if she stays in one spot for a few minutes. If she moves a few feet,
he goes and gets a new lot of items(apparently cannot be seen using the old
stuff!). This is one way to lose a lot of berries/budding fruit or flowers from
your plants...

Am I surprised the bower birds might be eating the vegies? Not at all.

Is it because their habitat has been destroyed? No. It's because they will take
advantage of any opportunity they see to get an easy feed. They are great
survivors, and take advantage of it all.

We have to net anything of value in the garden to keep the bower birds out. They
love tomatoes, but will turn their hand to anything that they like. They are
smart, inventive, excellent mimics, jaunty, inquisitive and all of the above.
They cause us great headaches (as well as a few other birds here), along with
many hours of entertainment...

Oh...and wear leather gloves when removing one from the house. That bloody beak
is sharp!


Cheers,

Rod.....Out Back
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Old 05-11-2006, 05:46 AM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Bower Birds eating vegetables

Rod Out Back wrote:

Oh...and wear leather gloves when removing one from the house. That bloody beak
is sharp!


awww, keep it and let us know how you get on with house training {:-).


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Old 15-11-2006, 04:34 AM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Bower Birds eating vegetables

Rod Out Back writes:
Another problem is some of the stuff the bower birds nick is to imrpess the
girlfriend. Certain berries, and other objects become preferred favourites for
decking out the love-pad.


So the blue snail pellets would be pounced on as soon as you lay them out??
--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)
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Old 27-11-2006, 02:55 PM posted to aus.gardens
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Default Bower Birds eating vegetables

On Wed, 15 Nov 2006 03:34:31 GMT, John Savage
wrote:

Rod Out Back writes:
Another problem is some of the stuff the bower birds nick is to imrpess the
girlfriend. Certain berries, and other objects become preferred favourites for
decking out the love-pad.


So the blue snail pellets would be pounced on as soon as you lay them out??



Funny, this talk of Bower birds remeinds me, a few years back the wife
and I were travelling through Adelaide River in the NT when we stopped
for lunch.

At the spot where we had stopped I noticed that a Bower bird had built
its nest, and it seems as there was a lack of Blue things about, it
had placed what we in the "West" call "blue metal" (probably called a
different name depending on where you're all from) but anyway, its
that crushed up granite that they use for roadworks.

I thought how apt..... Blue metal.
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