Bye bye blackbirds.

[treeman]

I Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate Black birds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They are in plague proportions here because this is the only moist property in the area. They have reduced a 1 metre high compost pile to 10cm of mulch in no time.
KILL THEM ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!
And while you're at it Starlings, and Mynas as well.

European song thrush on the other hand. No problem. Lovely song, eat snails, stay away from the fruit....... Nice birdy.

[regwac]

Mynah birds are definitely a serious pest and displace native birds . Blackbirds are also foreign invaders , do they also displace small native birds ?
Graham

[Sno]

We used to have a family of chuffs , I haven't seen them since the blackbirds came . I have noticed some of the smaller native birds coexisting with blackbirds , the wrens follow in the blackbirds wake getting what they miss . All the birds were more nervous because the blackbirds constantly call there warning cry . The problem with feral animals is while a bunny or Bambi or the colt from Old Regret may seem harmless in ones or two s when the numbers build up they dramatically change sensitive environments sometimes in ways we don't comprehend .

[MoGanic]

No animal deserves to die just because it's annoying or an inconvenience. There are better ways to deal with this and these have been mentioned here and all over the internet.

The birds are merely trying to survive - as would any creature in the same circumstance.

If they don't belong here - perhaps the idiots who introduced them should be killed rather than the birds themselves.

If a bird moves your moss, or even kills one of your tree's, it is doing so in an attempt to find food for itself or to feed its young. I've lost tree's where birds have directly contributed to their death, and in fact I even lost a loved pet to a fox recently - but that doesn't mean I'll be killing foxes or birds next time I see them. I will better protect my tree's and pets in future as I have done and honestly it works out easier for me and means I don't kill anything.

[Steven]

I will better protect my tree's and pets in future

Well said Mo! Prevention is better than cure!
Regards,
Steven

[Matthew]

I Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate Black birds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They are in plague proportions here because this is the only moist property in the area. They have reduced a 1 metre high compost pile to 10cm of mulch in no time.
KILL THEM ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!
And while you're at it Starlings, and Mynas as well.

European song thrush on the other hand. No problem. Lovely song, eat snails, stay away from the fruit....... Nice birdy.

The blackbirds pull out ALOT of mulch etc in my garden . for such a little bird they move alot of STUFF and cause a big mess !! the Thrush's are fantastic and i have no problems with them at all as well as the honey eaters and rens, firetails etc .
cockatoos on the other hand are a pain ! I dont' have a myna within several km of me . They are all scared to visit me with good reason

[Rory]

No animal deserves to die just because it's annoying or an inconvenience. There are better ways to deal with this and these have been mentioned here and all over the internet.

That is an interesting philosophy. I too am saddened to think that most animals are simply doing what they do. On the other hand, feral cats and cane toads often spring to mind as some of the reasons why the scientific community say that certain animals should be killed.
Essentially it is either them, or an absolute plethora of our beautiful and now endangered native animals that are killed by them, often to extinction. I would love to hear a solution for them that doesn't involve killing them, but it has not and quite probably wont be discovered. Perhaps a virus that sterilizes the males would be a good solution?

We can all agree, that in hindsight cane toads should not have been introduced, nor cats for that matter. But we can't change the past and now we have to deal with the current situation of our native fauna.

In some ways, you could compare it to flora, in that everyone agrees a toxic or invasive weed should be eradicated, but on the other hand, applying the philosophy above would mean that the weed is simply introduced and trying to survive in a different environment too.

[Mojo Moyogi]

I don't get blackbirds or mynas, I wonder if that is because of the the squadrons of Kookaburras that have the run of the place. Gotta love the RAAF

Cheers,
Mojo

[Stu]

Well said Rory. Animal pests require the same management as plant pests. Done humanely of course. Culling to save bonsai seems somewhat selfish but it will also help native species so do it for them. I do not often hear talk of saving foxes in Australia??

[MoGanic]

Well said Rory. Animal pests require the same management as plant pests. Done humanely of course. Culling to save bonsai seems somewhat selfish but it will also help native species so do it for them. I do not often hear talk of saving foxes in Australia??

I talked of not killing them... does that count?

[MoGanic]

No animal deserves to die just because it's annoying or an inconvenience. There are better ways to deal with this and these have been mentioned here and all over the internet.

That is an interesting philosophy. I too am saddened to think that most animals are simply doing what they do. On the other hand, feral cats and cane toads often spring to mind as some of the reasons why the scientific community say that certain animals should be killed.
Essentially it is either them, or an absolute plethora of our beautiful and now endangered native animals that are killed by them, often to extinction. I would love to hear a solution for them that doesn't involve killing them, but it has not and quite probably wont be discovered. Perhaps a virus that sterilizes the males would be a good solution?

We can all agree, that in hindsight cane toads should not have been introduced, nor cats for that matter. But we can't change the past and now we have to deal with the current situation of our native fauna.

In some ways, you could compare it to flora, in that everyone agrees a toxic or invasive weed should be eradicated, but on the other hand, applying the philosophy above would mean that the weed is simply introduced and trying to survive in a different environment too.

With birds/other animals though, I see it differently - it is not the birds fault and so they should not pay for our mistake. There are other options - one that springs to mind is de-sexing - rather than capturing and "humanely" murdering the birds, why not capture them and de-sex them instead? That way, any birds that are already born will have the opportunity to live out their entire life but won't be able to breed. I get it may be a little bit more expensive, perhaps risky to the bird, but it's better than the aim being to end their life. This also means that if the bird has babies it needs to tend do, it has a chance to get back to them too.

I get your point about the weeds, but would you rather have to pull the weeds/poison them etc... or would you rather not have had weeds in the first place? Prevention is key here. Stop them breeding - but let them live.

And just a point - Despite organisations being set up for the sole purpose of a. profits and b. killing birds/other animals - I have yet to see a species be completely eradicated. Prove me wrong - though I still won't agree with it. If killing them can make a difference, so can desexing or some other means - if killing them doesn't make a difference, nothing will.

Oh and foxes - like I said, they ate my pet rabbit, but I still wouldn't kill one. I just put barriers under my fence to stop them getting under - the fence is far too high for them to get over. I often see their little foot prints in the dirt of my front yard and it makes me smile because I know that we are co-existing.

[Theodore]

And you wonder why these things annoy me!




Sent from somewhere on planet earth using an iPad!

[Sammy D]

I like most have a blackbird problem. I would quite happily sit there and shoot them out the back with a slug gun. Problem is they are very flighty. ( probably cause i always chase them off like a loony). Also i dont want shoot my pots by accident ha ha and there are simply too many. I have tried a solution lately in putting fine grade bird mesh around the trunk and overhanging the pot makeing sure all moss is covered. So far 4months later moss is better than ever and no digging. Obviously does not look too good on the bench though and makes weeding the pots a little harder. Plus side is if you want to show it or have it as a centre piece at a party you have good moss. Also your trees dont get uprooted. A comprimise i know but seems to work for me. I keep my sanity ha ha and the birds as annoying as they are get to live.

[MoGanic]

I like most have a blackbird problem. I would quite happily sit there and shoot them out the back with a slug gun. Problem is they are very flighty. ( probably cause i always chase them off like a loony). Also i dont want shoot my pots by accident ha ha and there are simply too many. I have tried a solution lately in putting fine grade bird mesh around the trunk and overhanging the pot makeing sure all moss is covered. So far 4months later moss is better than ever and no digging. Obviously does not look too good on the bench though and makes weeding the pots a little harder. Plus side is if you want to show it or have it as a centre piece at a party you have good moss. Also your trees dont get uprooted. A comprimise i know but seems to work for me. I keep my sanity ha ha and the birds as annoying as they are get to live.

Great solution. It is no doubt an inconvenience to have to cover your trees as described but like you say, the birds get to live.

Thank you for posting this.

[Jimbomelville]

I have a moss-covered trident maple forest they continually wreck.
They only touch it so I think I'll build it a playpen. Hopefully that will do it.
Great idea.