permaculture approach to birds (Australia)

Most people do net their fruit trees here, if not you do not get a single fruit, rosellas and cockatoos take everything.
I hate these nets. They are expensive, a lot of work and you can't pick a plum on the way. And I would like to have some bigger trees too.
The birds here laugh about anything scary like CD or aluminum foil strips. They are smart.
Are there other approaches? Something very smart which even outsmarts these parrots?

Hi Angelika,

Thanks for posting, I am certainly not an expert but the first thing that jumped in my mind was encourage predator populations, perhaps cats but cats will tend to decimate bird populations, it would be sad to see shredded rosellas and cockatoos so maybe that isn't such a good idea.

You could build raptor perches around your property and encourage them to stop by and perhaps they will scare off your bird problem at least a little bit.

I have also heard of people hanging shiny things which apparently can mess with them.

You could also try putting up a fake raptor, but I have heard they will figure out its fake.

You could also plant some more bird forage.

Perhaps a mix of solutions would significantly cut down on the birds ability to access the trees without predation and confusion thus shielding the trees and planting other bird forage in more sheltered areas will direct the birds to that area.

I am only speculating though,

Thanks for reading I hope I could help out a little bit.


*EDIT* Ya, I didn't realize australia does not have an indigenous raptor population apparently so, I guess my other thought would be encourage a very territorial bird which does not eat the fruit tree to nest near or in the trees preferably although I don't know what this might be. (sorry)

Daniel

Thanks BUT cats don't scare cockatoos away, they are as big as a rooster and can destroy houses with their beaks.
I thought of planting bird food plants, but will this attract even more of them? Are they stuffed at one stage?
The white cockatoos are not native to our area, but still protected. They come in huge flocks. Black cockatoos which are native here haven't visited our garden yet. They are even bigger, but tend to fly in small family sized flocks.

I've heard tale of putting up Wren houses near berry bushes because they are very territorial and will fight off other birds. This way you only need to deal with the loss from the resident Wren. I don't know how this would work for giant flocks of rooster sized fruit eaters but I thought I'd throw it out there. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

The late John GOrdon of Northern Nut Growers came up with a great idea. He would put autumn olive trees next to his nuts and fruits. I'm trying to remember it exactly. The autumn olives attracted robins, I think, which attracted eagles and red-tailed hawks, which prevented blue jays and crows from stealing so much of his fruit and nuts. It was ingenious, It's probably still on his web site, and it made a lot of sense.

Also some people have figured out how to make roosts for hawks and owls.
John S
PDX OR

This is the right direction I think. The owls won't eat the cockatoos though they are as big as a rooster and ten times as clever.
I read something very interesting. There's a guy called Storl, unfortunately he mainly publishes in German, but he did an English book 'culture and horticulture". He had a problem with slugs and snails (or was it something else?). He tried to kill them get rid of them but it only got worse. Then he made piece with them and even had a digeridoo player coming to his place who tried to negotiate with the spirit of the snails... apparently it worked.

John Saltveit wrote:The late John GOrdon of Northern Nut Growers came up with a great idea. He would put autumn olive trees next to his nuts and fruits. I'm trying to remember it exactly. The autumn olives attracted robins, I think, which attracted eagles and red-tailed hawks, which prevented blue jays and crows from stealing so much of his fruit and nuts. It was ingenious, It's probably still on his web site, and it made a lot of sense.

Also some people have figured out how to make roosts for hawks and owls.
John S
PDX OR

John Gordon is a new reference for me. I checked his visually unremarkable website, but there is substance in the literature. Unfortunately he has passed on. I did find a book that looks like a good read available for free that he has written. Thanks for sharing.

http://www.nuttreesnorth.com/book210/book210.pdf

Unofficial Eulogy wrote:John Gordon passed away on August 2 of this year after several months of being hospitalized. He was recognized as an expert in nut culture as well as some of the "orphan" fruits including pawpaw and persimmon. He was an extraordinary nut tree explorer and grower always searching for new adaptable species of nut trees or cultivars with outstanding characteristics. His most outstanding attribute was his willingness to share what he found with everyone who was interested without concern for credit or remuneration.

John Gordon joined NNGA in the early 1960's with a driving interest in the American chestnut, an interest that continued throughout his life. This interest expanded to all other nuts including hickory and pecan. I met John at my first NNGA meeting in 1968 and we became good friends from then on.

He was an inaugural member of SONG and attended the first meeting in October of 1972. He was an enthusiastic, active member for many years. He was elected as President of SONG, a position he held for several years. He donated the writing of Nut Growing Ontario Style, the first handbook of the Society of Ontario Nut Growers.

He was also an active member of the New York branch of the American Chestnut Foundation as soon as it formed. He assisted wherever he was asked in the meetings and research work. He also joined the New York Nut Growers Association as soon as it formed. He actively served both groups until his death.

He was one of the group responsible for the introduction of the ultra northern pecans that are successfully growing in eastern North America. He went into the nettle infested northern Mississippi River forests several years in a row to find early ripening pecans. He collected pecan seed nuts and scion wood from these trees. We now have his colorfully named cultivars like `Deerstand', `Lucas', `Carlson 3' and `Snaps' because of his efforts. He unselfishly shared all of his findings with his interested friends. He started the Pecan Distribution Programme where he sent out thousands of packets of ultra northern pecans to interested growers all over the USA and Canada for several years. This project caused the NNGA membership to swell to record numbers.

He dedicated a large part of his 50 acre farm to the trial plantings of thousands of seedling and grafted trees with the intention of introducing new cultivars of nut trees. His outstanding contributions of `Imshu', `Locket' and `Stealth' are a few of the heartnut selections he made. His nut tree nursery supplied numerous growers with seedling and grafted trees, as well as seed nuts and scion wood for many years.

His interests also turned to the fruiting trees that NNGA members adopted including pawpaw's and persimmons. He introduced and tested several selections of both of these fruits including his own persimmon introduction `Geneva Long' recently renamed `Gordon' by the Grimo Nut Nursery.

John will be sorely missed to all those who knew him. A remembrance was held on August 3 and his ashes were spread over his Amherst property by his daughter Katie Gordon on August 10.

Ernie Grimo in S.O.N.G News Sept 2012

Owl nest boxes sound a good idea to me
Barn owls are short of good nesting sites world wide
Not sure about australia though
David

I don't know much about Australia. The birds would like to eat all of my cherries and blueberries. The cherries they get, nearly every one. The blueberries we race for. If I get up early and pick every ripe one I get them but it's a lot of work! But then the chokecherries ripen- the birds prefer chokecherries to blueberries and we get them. A trap crop will only work if your bird population is less than the food supply. Perhaps it's worth trying a variety of trees. This may take a while...

Barn owls are found in Australia
Although the parrots are too big to be eaten by Barn owls they Will not be happy being close to a raptor And this may be enough that they go elsewhere
David

Also these are native to Australia
http://www.raptor.org.au/fperegrinus.html

Now if only you could encourage them to live near you. I have seen them take gulls And Wood pigions I am sure parrots would be on there prey list.
On a more serious note is falconry popular near you? Check out some clubs And offer your place for hunting. Exit parrots pronto.

David