Birds in the gardenor on the plot can be seen both as our friends, e.g. allies in the fight against harmful insects, and as pests of our crops, eating seeds and fruit. Find out what isharmfulness of birds in the gardenand see how important role they play in nature. Better to scare them away or even invite them to our garden? Here's how to tame thebirds in the gardenand enjoy the company of birds!
Birds in the garden can be nice company.
It also happens that they cause serious damage
The effects of birds in the garden
Our allies in the garden are primarilyinsectivorous birds- feeding mainly on insects, as well as other small invertebrates such as spiders, earthworms, snails. As our insectivorous alliesbirds in the gardencan reduce the occurrence of many plant pests on plots and in gardens.
It is a bit worse withherbivorous birds , which mainly feed on seeds, fruit, tree and shrub buds, leaves and young shoots, because these can significantly damage our plants and reduce yields from the plot. Although there is also an argument in favor of birds, because the consumption of plant food by birds is of great positive importance for agriculture, because they weed fields and gardens, feeding on fruit and weed seeds.
It should be noted, however, that many insectivorous birds eat plant food at certain times of the year, while herbivores eat a lot of insects and other small animals.Starling or blackbird eat insects in summer and spring, while in autumn and winter they eat fruit and seeds. Sparrows and finches, which feed mainly on grains, eat a lot of insects in spring and summer, and they feed their chicks only or to a large extent with insects.Before we diagnose and accuse the birds of causing damage to our plot, it is worth getting acquainted with about what damage and which birds can cause.
A common symptom ofbird feeding in the gardenare pecked buds on trees and shrubs. The bud covers are on the ground beneath the plants. This damage can be caused by various birds, including bullfinches. Blackbirds and starlings like our orchards. As a result of their foraging, the fruit is pecked and the berries can be eaten whole. Swallows can be pests in an ornamental garden - torn primroses and crocuses are often the result of the actions of swallows. The jays, on the other hand, like legumes and devour peas and broad beans.Cruciferous vegetables and fruit shrubs (especially black currants) and the crops of peas and beans can be damaged by wild pigeons. As a result, we observe the eaten leaves of cruciferous vegetables. Young plants can be uprooted. In currants leaves and fruits are destroyed.
As you can see, a gardening lover, even being a bird lover, may become a bit discouraged from their company when the crops are so badly damaged. However, by acting in the right way, we can minimize the negative aspects ofbirds in the garden , while not limiting their positive impact as helpers in the fight against many insects.
Deterring birds in the garden
As we mentioned before, the birds in the garden can unfortunately do a lot of damage. Therefore, some of us will probably want to limit the abundance of avian companionship. However, it should be remembered that some species of birds are under special protection.Any methods of deterrence must be relatively humane.
The most effective indeterring birdsare the falconry methods. Thanks to the use of appropriate species of birds of prey, the method is 100% effective and reliable. Unfortunately, if we do not have a falconer friend, the service of a professional will turn out to be too expensive and not practical in terms of the plot, as it basically requires the daily work of a falconer in the field.
"Therefore, in the conditions of the allotment garden, other methods of deterring birds are used. Much easier to apply, but unfortunately also less effective. In fact, the most effective way to scare birds away from flower beds and a garden bed is by unfastening the strings with strips of shiny blue foil strung on them. The effectiveness of this method is based on the fact that birds are afraid of blue and shiny objects. Although, unfortunately, with time they may get used to this obstacle, so it is also worth using otherways to scare away birds
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Deterring birds in the garden
A rather innovative method is deterring with the use of silhouettes of birds of prey. It consists in displaying the life-size silhouette of a falcon or a hawk in a visible place. Reduced black silhouettes are also often used in the form of stickers placed, for example, on windows. Unfortunately, also here, after some time, there is a problem of birds getting used to and lowering the effectiveness of this method of deterrence.
Another method is to scare away bangs. It is currently the most widely used method of scaring off, which unfortunately also has a number of disadvantages. One of the main problems is that birds are getting used to the roaring sounds. Another disadvantage is the nuisance to the environment and, if used in a built-up area, it also becomes irritating to the people living in the area. Thus, in principle, it is not suitable for use on plots (possibly it can be used to a small extent). Another method is to scare off with the sounds of birds of prey. Unfortunately, this is the least effective method (some birds do not respond to these noises at all), and the devices imitating the appropriate sounds are quite expensive. In the conditions of an allotment garden - it makes no sense.
As you can see from the reviewof bird scaring methods , the effectiveness of these methods decreases with time, as the birds stop responding to these methods. In order to limit their existence on our plot, it is worth using several methods alternately, i.e. unfastening the strings with strips of shiny blue foil, deterring using the silhouettes of birds of prey and possibly banging deterrence. The latter, however, is extremely rare and only if there is no neighbor nearby on the neighboring plots, whom we could also accidentally scare.
Due to the low effectiveness of themethods of deterring birds in the garden , in order to protect the fruits of the plot, the nets are also stretched over trees and shrubs and the beds are covered. Nets with appropriately small meshes make it difficult for birds to gain access to plants.
Bird-friendly garden
For many people, however,birds in the gardenis a nice and desirable company. Therefore, it is worth considering how to create a bird-friendly garden and what to do to make the birds in our garden feel better.
Birds need our help to the greatest extent in the winter, when it is cold and they have problems finding food. During this period, we can help byfeeding the birdsThe simplest form of feeding is pouring the finely chopped bread directly onto the ground. However, this is not a recommended method. Such feed quickly loses its value, and the effects of such actions will primarily benefit the least demanding and most common species - pigeons, jackdaws and sparrows.
Bird feeding in winter
In order for our help to reach the most needy birds, such as tit, as well as blackbirds and greenfinches - it is necessary to prepare an appropriate feeder in which both the food and the birds using it will be sheltered from rain and wind. Bird feeders in the gardencan be hung among tree branches or attached to high supports (this will protect the birds from cat attacks).
And what is worth putting in the feeder? It's best to sprinkle cereal grains and seeds that are high in fat, such as sunflower and linseed, or bird mixes offered by pet stores. Siskin, bullfinches, goldfinches and greenfinches will be the most satisfied with this food. Slightly larger birds such as pigeons, turtledoves and poultry can be sprinkled with small pieces of dry bread, cereals and groats.
Lard is also often hung in feeders - a titmouse delicacy. The lard should be fresh and raw, never s alted or smoked. In addition to the lard, there can be tallow or rendered fat mixed with the seeds. For blackbirds, quiches, robins and bullfinches, you can lay out the dried fruits of rowan, hawthorn, sea-buckthorn, privet, as well as apples and raisins. Crosswords and swans in the most cold weather can be given cereal grains and chopped vegetables - bread eaten for a long time and in larger quantities is harmful to them.
Bird foodmust not contain s alt, preservatives and other chemical additives - the bird's organism is not adapted to their excretion, so they become poisons for it. So let's be careful not to harm the birds more than help them.
But of course winter is not the only season when it is worth helping birds. Our help will also be useful in spring, when the birds make their nests. For those who nest in hollows (including tits and starlings), we can provide a nesting box. The construction of theleg boothmust, however, impede access to eggs and chicks by martens - predatory mammals specialized in robbing nests. It has to be hung out of the reach of cats and malicious people.
Real hollows are even better than boxes, so leaving an old, hollow fruit tree in the garden or orchard, which no longer serves us, can be a wonderful gift for birds. Birds also eagerly place their nests in dense shrubs.By planting shrubs on the plot or around the house, we give the birds the opportunity to settle in.
If we have already invitedbirds to the garden , then avoid using chemical pesticides, which can be very harmful to our flying friends.
