There are many, many robins who live in the trees that are around our house to the north, northeast, and south. They are usually very busy on the lawn, hopping around, listening for worms, and "harvesting" them. However, they must get tired of the wormy diet, because robins love raspberries. They exhibit great subterfuge, running almost hidden under the branches, and jumping up to bite the succulent berries. Time for action.
So...Ron's first step was to hang shiny strips of special glittering foil from the wires defining the row
That helped, but we could still walk out by the raspberries and surprise one or two robins not minding their business as we'd like. So the bogus owl, mounted on a pole, with wings that flap in the breeze was the second attempt to discourage the robin robbers.
That seemed not to be enough, so the next step was to use a motion-sensor rattlesnake along the path that the robins like to frequent. Helped, but not efficient, in that we would need a half dozen to police this side of the patch. Now, there is another owl, waiting to be mounted -how much pretend can we do?
However, the raspberries are beginning to come on quite well - Ron picked this morning, and our tiny patch gave about 1-1/2 quarts. And they are just starting. Perhaps there will be enough for the freezer, and an occasional robin, too? If they dare, that is.
2 comments:
I am torn between the owl and the snake - which one is cuter? Love the creativity!
The robin vs berry competition is spreading in popularity. We need some of Ron's creative battle strategy.
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