Birds

[britman]

Every morning lately I have been chasing a small bird out of my garage.  Apparently he has been entering through the window where I keep a fan.  I have feeders out, throw stale bread on the ground, and even keep a suet cage.  Still they continuously shit on my cars, bikes, and now this.  Anyone have an idea what new modular helmets are costing these days....

[Two Checks]

You are providing an easy source of food so they are looking for nesting places.
Stop feeding them and they go away.

[oldbike54]

 Buy a couple of old pudding bowl helmets , place them upside down in an easily accessible location, problem solved  Oh , I like birds also 

 Dusty

[guzzisteve]

Get a hat box. We have Cardinal that likes cat food and a big frog that comes in to eat bugs. Maybe it starts w/hair in the helmet.

[normzone]

Oh that's hilarious. He looked at that helmet and thought "Why that big dummy does not realize he's got an unfinished home right here - I'll just put in some insulation, a little carpeting - chicks are going to dig this flat .... "

We have a hummingbird feeder, all manner of drama occurs around it. I tried seed in a feeder on the fence for a while but there was too much resulting drama, spillage and poop - now the seed goes out on the hill (apartment life), and the seed feeder holds water. We do this instead of television.

[britman]

I have decided I am not going to mess with the helmet and window fan opening is going to stay in place. I guess eggs will be arriving soon, I always wanted more than one Grand-baby and they will be company for the "Goose".  After nature has run its course the condo will go to the landfill and head gear storage will moved to a more secure location....

[Lannis]

That's a Phoebe, I'll betcha anything (unless it's really small, then it might be a wren).

They nest in my garage and shed, making the durndest mess crapping on everything.   They eat insects so they have no interest in our seed feeders or suet feeders.

You either have to run them off before they get their nest built by tearing it up as they build it, or you have to terminate them with extreme prejudice, or you have to put up with them.   

We usually just put up with them.   We're on the side of anything that eats insects around here ... !

Lannis

[screamday]

Birds

[sib]

After the chicks have fledged and left the nest, the birds will have no further interest in it, so you can retrieve the helmet.  I would, however, suggest making sure it's thoroughly clean before using it, since birds carry all manner of parasites, especially ticks.

[Lee Davis]

I suppose I am very lucky when it comes to birds... I leave the back garage door open to my shop, which is loaded with motorcycles and project bikes. The birds that often come in are Roadrunners, and if I surprise them, I carefully wait till they leave on their own. I have a nesting pair that had three chicks this last year, and those guys are fully grown now, so I often see them around the place. But, that is good luck! I spread seed for the Doves, but the Roadrunners are not seed eaters... not sure why they come into the shop, unless it is to check out the Guzzis. But, since Roadrunners are very perceptive birds, they never leave any calling cards on the Guzzis.   Lee Davis,  New Mexico

[Pop]

Go to the dollar store and buy several rubber snakes. Put them around. No birds. My brother had birds crapping on his new truck, he glued a snake to the rail and no crap,  but he did scare the crap out of a woman in a parking lot.
As for the babies, Happy Father's Day

Pop

[bigbikerrick]

you can hang up old CDs it scares the birds away. It works, I hung a couple on phone line going to my house where birds would perch and crap on the cars. No more birds on the wire! They think its the flashing eyes of a predator bird of some sort I have read.  At least its harmless..You may try hanging a couple with a piece of string from the rafters....
Rick.

[Lannis]

..... but the Roadrunners are not seed eaters... not sure why they come into the shop, unless it is to check out the Guzzis. But, since Roadrunners are very perceptive birds, they never leave any calling cards on the Guzzis.   

Oh, I know why they come to the shop ... and they're not hoping to find a Guzzi.

They're hoping to get at THIS guy ....



They ARE very perceptive birds ....

Lannis

[nyITguy]

Birds

Okay, when I see people commenting with references to Belew songs, I know I'm in the right forum!

[Chuck in Indiana]

We have an airplane hanger. I've seen birds sitting on rubber snakes. They pay no attention whatsoever to dangling CDs. A big owl seems to spook a few.. but..
I don't care. Anything that flies is a kindred spirit. I like em. I feed em. I watch em. I *love* listening to them. <shrug>

[Pop]

Oh! I don't dislike birds, I spend a ton on food for the winter. I even mix my own feed for them. I simply passed on info that worked.
If birds nested in my helmet, they would die.
Pop

[pebra]

Great thread!
Guzzi content? Above average, I'd say.

[Lannis]

Oh! I don't dislike birds, I spend a ton on food for the winter. I even mix my own feed for them. I simply passed on info that worked.
If birds nested in my helmet, they would die.
Pop

We mix our own too ... most birds here like sunflower seeds, but some like cracked corn and millet so we mix it about 80/20 sunflower/other.

Our feed barrel holds about 90 pounds, and we fill it every three weeks or so to supply the 4 feeders (winter and summer, it never slows down), so we LITERALLY use about a ton of feed every 18 months .... !   And that's just birds - we finally outsmarted the squirrels!

Lannis

[Aaron D.]

We have a pretty good variety, and lots of windows. This year has been good for sightings-decent uptick in bluebirds, eagles, pileated woodpeckers, too many others.

A feeder? Maybe in squirrel season, but the bears like 'em too!

ps-chickens love to kill snakes.

[Captainjos]

Hmmm....this is for the birds

[Lannis]

We have a pretty good variety, and lots of windows. This year has been good for sightings-decent uptick in bluebirds, eagles, pileated woodpeckers, too many others.

A feeder? Maybe in squirrel season, but the bears like 'em too!

ps-chickens love to kill snakes.

We use a galvanized 30-gallon trash can for outside seed storage, it holds about 90 - 100 pounds.

Of course, to a bear, that represents about 150,000 calories, which is quite a temptation.    We made the mistake of leaving the house for a week with our dog, and left the can outside ... and Mama Bear apparently was making seed porridge that week and ate it ALLLL up.

So now, if we leave the house for a day or two or more and take the dog, we pull the can inside.    When we're here, the dog is patrolling outside and bears hate dogs, won't come around at all.   And the squirrels have to take what the birds spill on the ground, they can't get to the feeders.

Lannis

[Two Checks]

I wish Road Runners would come to my shop. Or Super Birds or Super Bees.....

[Pop]

Hey, no birds and bees! Sexual content is frowned on.

Pop

[Lee Davis]

I walked into the shop early this morning and there was a Roadrunner standing on one of the old Moto Guzzis. Now, that is certainly good luck. I hear them around the place quite often, calling "brrrakaack", I suppose to each other. No beeps here... 
   

[Chuck in Indiana]

We have a pretty good variety, and lots of windows. This year has been good for sightings-decent uptick in bluebirds, eagles, pileated woodpeckers, too many others.

A feeder? Maybe in squirrel season, but the bears like 'em too!

ps-chickens love to kill snakes.

Yeah, I think it was the very mild winter. We've seen bluebirds, too. Brown Thrashers. Rose breasted Grosbeaks.. rare around here. Pileated woodpeckers??    I've seen two in my life. I certainly don't expect to see one, but you never know. 

[Nic in Western NYS]

Yeah, I think it was the very mild winter. We've seen bluebirds, too. Brown Thrashers. Rose breasted Grosbeaks.. rare around here. Pileated woodpeckers??    I've seen two in my life. I certainly don't expect to see one, but you never know. 

A Pileated couple decided to nest near us, quite a treat seeing those birds up close.

[britman]

Just a quick update.  I had not seen any activity around the helmet condo since initial discovery.  I thought maybe I had gotten lucky and the bike noise and CD player had made the new resident move on.  I checked at 4 am this morning with a flashlight and was met with a beady eyed stare.  She must have been out partying prior to dropping the maternal load............

[Lannis]

A Pileated couple decided to nest near us, quite a treat seeing those birds up close.

We have quite a few, they are BIG raucous birds!   Startling to see one take wing from a tree near you ....

Lannis

[sib]

Birds or bees?

Could be worse:  https://rideapart.com/articles/swarm-angry-bees-takes-residence-bikers-helmet

[oldbike54]

 We have owls , a couple different varieties of woodpeckers , tons of crows , hawks , bluebirds , cardinals , pigeons , Eastern and Western something or others , the occasional eagle , and a whole bunch of little brown jobs . (technical term) . Some mornings it sounds like an aviary just outside our door . Squack , tweet , honk , and that isn't counting the neighbor's parrot who sounds a bit like Archie Bunker on speed   

 Dusty