Today is National Bird Day, it turns out, and though I wonder why they put such a celebration in the middle of winter, I suppose it's always a good day to think about birds.
Here at our new house, the birds seem different from those we heard at our condo, just a mile away. This is probably due to the fact that we now live close to a large pond, with the accompanying trees and wildlife. I have heard what sounds like a hawk or eagle cry many times, mixed in with the more familiar winter blue jay's call.
But if I'm being honest, the love of birds is a bit of a balancing act for me at the moment. Because, you see, I'm planning to plant a mini-orchard of fruit trees this spring, plus maybe some strawberries and (my dream) high-bush blueberries. And if I don't play my cards right, the birds will get all the fruits of my labors (sorry).
Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with the birds getting some of the bounty, but I have plans for pies and jam and out-of-hand snacking. So what's a girl to do?
I've pulled together a preliminary list of techniques for keeping birds off of fruit trees, to file away for this summer:
- Put netting over the whole tree.
- Hang CDs from the branches--birds don't like the sun-flashing
- Hang plastic owls around the trees
- Share--birds don't like low-hanging fruit, so let 'em have the tippy top of the trees
That's for another day, though. Today, we celebrate the bird and all its sing-song-y, bug-eat-y, nest built-y glory! Happy Bird Day to you.
(image via: http://www.livescience.com)
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