"Bird proof" on the allotment.

Jackdaws, crows, magpies, pigeons, pheasants seem to be the main bird pests.

What's "bird proof" (not much) so far seems to be:

Parsnips.
Potatoes.
Beetroot.
Fennel.

Affected:

Onions (Young leaves grazed, jackdaws)
Broad beans (pods attacked, jackdaws)

Badly affected:

Brassicas of any description (any of the above).
Sweetcorn (pheasant)

What's your experience?

 

I dont get any of those problems, in fact bird damage is pretty much unknown.
I've got a couple of jackdaws recently around here but not noticed any damage, a fair few wood pigeons, crows, blackbirds, sparrows, magpies, I dont have pheasants, but I think most people just shoot them.

 

It's wood pigeons for me, I have to net all brassicas from planting and fruits. I also have rabbits, squirrels and deer. But they are also put off by nets and fleece

 

Pigeons are crazy for black currants, blackbirds - for blueberries. I hid bushes by covering with white fleece, but it's rubbishy one, it desintegrated earlier than berries became ready. I understand now, it's not uv stabile. Thinking of using maybe thin cotton next year.

 

Pigeons are the only birds that cause a problem here, they are better than seagulls because they are quieter. Crows and other corvids do pull labels out and also pull up onion sets. The main problems here are slugs, snails, pigeons, badgers, squirrels and peacocks. The last three eat everything and trash the rest. A peacock can make a mess of a gooseberry bush and completely trash a strawberry patch by stomping over the netting. Badgers will take a row of carrots in one evening and an apple tree doesn't look good after a badger has tried to climb it.

 

When I was growing up we used net curtains from jumble sales to protect fruit bushes.

 

Bingo! Will give it a go next season.

 

At the moment i've got a big problem with rats, all of a suden they came, used up my bait and order more, but yesterday i tryed a bit of whole meal bread with honey and brock up 2 paracetamol tabs (crushed with 2 spoons) and put onto the honey and push it all together, put out in the rat run and gone in seconds, repeated, repeated & repeated all gone, but looking around i found a pile of bread on the rat run, this morning all bread gone and haven't seen any rats

 

It's a big problem here. I've spent £75 just in wire netting, the posts and straining wire being "salvaged" for very little money.

However, regarding birds, the subject in hand, some plotholders do nothing, or even encourage them (!) (mainly those who grow weeds, flowers and use their plots as a back garden/social area); some go to great lengths with mesh cages. I have also purchased some Enviromesh ("by the metre", which is cheaper than specific sizes, but £85!!) and made some tunnels from salvaged chicken wire. Both are a nuisance, restricting development of crops, hampering weeding, and using time. Without them any brassicas would be impossible. I am even thinking of re-meshing my broad beans while they're producing, because jackdaws! The whole field is a mecca for avian pests. They have food provided for them or grown for them, water easily accessible in troughs for them to drink, and virtually no predators bar the odd plot holder who nobly but infrequently takes action. I might buy or make a Larsen covid trap to help.

I'm waffling, again. Back to the point.

Looking around at other plots, it seems that runner beans are not troubled by birds.

 

Perhaps your allotment committee would take action? Especially if it's a council one ("public health concerns" etc.).

 

OT (rabbits): Out driving here and there, it used to be common to see an unfortunate rabbit with myxomatosis. Unfortunately, I have not seen one for ages. It would be beneficial to have one.

 

Earlier this year, a lady whose allotment is near mine, was in tears, because all her lovely seedlings had been eaten. Unprotected, left alone in seed trays for about an hour, destroyed.