While the easiest solution may seem to be killing them, all wild birds except pigeons, English sparrows and starlings, are protected by US federal and state laws. You may not trap, kill, or possess protected species without federal and state permits.

In this thread I will share some ideas for dealing with wild bird problems, as outlined in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pamphlet, Backyard Bird Problems. Anyone who has had any experience with solving problems with wild birds, or who is currently having a problem and would like some help in solving it, is welcome to add to this thread.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

The first step in solving your wild bird problem is to identify the bird and what’s attracting it. Your goal is to remove what attracts the bird, or build a barrier between the bird and what it finds so attractive.

Call your US Fish and Wildlife Service Regional Office, your state wildlife officer and county Cooperative Extension agent for advice.

Before taking any action, consider the following:

- What do the experts recommend?
- Could it hurt people, pets, and other wildlife?
- Will it reduce or eliminate the damage?
- Is it worth the cost?

Most bird problems do not have a simple solution. What eliminates a bird problem in once case may fail in similar situations. You may find a solution that seems effective, but don’t be surprised if it works for only a short time. The secret to solving bird problems is to use several tactics and to vary them so birds don’t become complacent.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

maybe there is no easy solution except to buy an air rifle and break the law. The good news is that if you are caught, some lawyer will make a bit more money!!!

Each year thousands of homeowners [including me] put out suet feeders to attract woodpeckers. These handsome birds reward us by consuming millions of noxious insects, including carpenter ants and carpenter bees. While it’s rare, an occasional woodpecker may single out a house for drumming, or worse, for a nest or dining site.

Each spring, when males set up territories and attract their mates, these woodpeckers make their presence known by “drumming.” Normally they pick a resonant dead tree trunk. As more homeowners remove dead trees, woodpeckers may turn to metal gutters, house siding and television antennas.

While drumming may be aggravating, it usually doesn’t physically damage your house. You can eliminate the drumming noise by deadening the resonant area. Fill the hollow space with caulk. Then distract the bird from the drumming site by using scare techniques: balloons, a child’s pinwheel, flash tape, and strings of shiny, noisy tin can lids, wind chimes and/or pulsating water sprinklers.

If that doesn’t work, create a physical barrier by screening the drumming site with hardware cloth, sheet metal or nylon “bird netting.”

You might encourage the bird to leave altogether by creating an alternative drumming site nearby (but away from your bedroom window).

Here’s how to make a drum: Fasten two overlapping boards, the back board firmly secured and the front, covered with metal sheeting, nailed to it at only one end.

Serious structural damage occurs when woodpeckers drill holes in unpainted, untreated plywood and cedar siding, window frames, and roofing. While no one knows for sure what attracts a woodpecker to a house, your first step in eliminating the problem is to check for signs of insect infestation – carpenter ants, carpenter bees and cluster flies.

You may want to consult with a licensed pest control operator on how to remove the insects and eliminate future infestations. It may be as simple as caulking their tunnels and painting with exterior latex.

If you can’t find any insects, try “scare” techniques. If you have a bird feeder that attracts woodpeckers, you might think removing your feeder would cause the bird to leave. Just the opposite may be true. Keeping a feeder full of suet may encourage the birds notto look at your siding for food.

If you have dead trees in your yard, you might think that removing them and the insects that they harbor would solve woodpecker problems. Again, the opposite may be true. Cutting down dead and decaying trees deprives these birds of nesting, drumming and food sites, and may force them to take a look at your house.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

[This message has been edited by Cathy Sears (edited February 27, 2001).]

It’s early summer. You’ve planted your garden. Your trees and shrubs are full of fruit. Before you get a chance to enjoy them, your crops are harvested by birds. Again, barriers are the most effective deterrents.

Hot caps (opaque plastic “hats” used to cover young plants in the spring to prevent freezing) and inverted crates can keep starlings from pulling up small plants. Netting may keep starlings, catbirds, orioles, robins, blackbirds, and jays from your grapes, apples, and raspberries. Scare techniques may repel birds from gardens. Placing feeders filled with sunflower seed, millet, nectar and peanuts nearby may also distract birds.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

Herons and egrets at the edge of a pond create a picture of tranquillity. That is unless these and other fish-eating birds (gulls, terns, kingfishers, diving ducks, pelicans, cormorants and osprey) are dining on your prize koi. First try scare techniques, then exclusion.

While they may be unsightly, physical barriers can deter most fish-eating birds. For small ponds, complete screening with bird netting may be effective. Properly spaced monofilament lines suspended over a pond may exclude gulls (ever 4 feet), mergansers (every 2 feet), and herons (ever foot). Perimeter fences provide some protection from wading birds.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

[This message has been edited by Cathy Sears (edited March 26, 2001).]

You don’t have to park your car under a tree [like we used to have to] to discover why people have no patience with roosting birds. Everyone knows bird droppings pile up under a roost. An occasional bird perching on a tree limb, gutter or fence may not be a serious concern. But problems arise when pigeons perch on your balcony railing, sparrows select your carport rafter and gulls bask on your boat dock piling. When starlings, grackles, blackbirds and crows roost by the thousands in trees – they create a serious health hazard.

Physical barriers may be the most effective way to control birds roosting on buildings. To eliminate birds on ledges try porcupine wire, stretching a “slinky” toy, or stringing rows of monofilament , one or two inches above each other about two feet apart. Sheet metal or hardware cloth placed at an angle on ledges may also make roosting more difficult.

Pruning may help eliminate birds roosting in trees. Removing some cover may be enough to make the roost site less attractive. Scare tactics may provide temporary relief.

Note: Our car is much cleaner now that we cut down the tree we had to park under, though we didn’t do it because of the birds.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

Birds often pick what seem to be the strangest places to nest:
In your gutter, clothes dryer or kitchen fan vent;
Above your front door;
In a bucket in your garage;
In your hanging basket;
A pile of twigs on your windowsill;
In the shrubs next to your front door.

The federal and state laws that protect wild birds also protect their nests and eggs. You must have a federal permit to disturb the adults, nests or eggs.

The most effective way to eliminate these problems is to discourage the bird before the nest is built by offering an alternative artificial “nest” nearby, but out of your way. If that doesn’t work, contact a federal or state agent for advice. Resist the temptation to destroy the nest or harass the adults.

House (or English) sparrows, pigeons, and starlings are not protected by law. You may remove their nests, eggs, and adults.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

The presence of hawks and owls (raptors) may cause problems for people who raise free-ranging poultry and small animals such as rabbits, for people who operate bird feeding stations and for those who allow their household pets to roam at night.

Federal and state laws prohibit the capture, killing or possession of hawks and owls. The best solution to most raptor problems is prevention. Keep your pets indoors, and your livestock in pens. If you feed wild birds, expect a visit from a hungry hawk or owl. Raptors at a birdfeeding station are a problem only when they perch nearby, all day. You won’t see any birds at your feeders. Rather than get upset, consider yourself fortunate to get a close-up look at these magnificent birds. Stop filling your feeders for a couple of days, and the raptors will look for dinner elsewhere.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

Ducks, geese, swans and cranes can cause problems near rivers, ponds, and lakes. They feed on crops, grass and vegetation. During their summer moult, flightless birds may create more problems by trampling plants and leaving droppings. Whatever the problem with waterfowl, immediate action is crucial to successful control.

Farmers are encouraged to use early-ripening and damage-resistant plant varieties. Another strategy, delaying fall plowing, allows waterfowl to feed in harvested fields.

A combination of several frightening techniques may produce the best results: scarecrows, noisemakers, flags, balloons, and dogs.

Scarecrows should be of simple construction and move in the wind. Put one in every five acres and move them every two to five days. Old cars, farm machinery, pinwheels, streamers, fluorescent traffic cones, and aluminum pie plates, if they move in the wind and make noise can also be effective waterfowl scares.

Flags may be the most effective and least expensive control tool. Make 2 X 3 ft. black plastic flags on 4 foot posts. Put one flag per acre in fields where waterfowl have been feeding, one per five acres in fields with no damage.

Balloons, if properly maintained and frequently moved, can be effective waterfowl scares. Fill a two-foot diameter balloon with helium and anchor it with a 50 to 75 pound monofilament line.

Dogs: A free ranging dog, trained to chase birds as soon as they land, will discourage waterfowl.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.