Thankyou for your call about a Hawk bird scarer, used to scare birds from palm trees. You have a particularly difficult problem but your Hawk will work for you provided that the birds in your tree are not nesting and they can see the hawk from where they are roosting. Once birds start nesting, nothing will deter them from returning to the site. Even removing their nest will not stop them from coming back to the site.
However roosting birds can be scared. Try the following method. Your birds are probably using the palm tree as a roosting site for the night. Once the birds have landed in the palm there is a risk that they will hide themselves from the hawk. If they can’t see the hawk, they can’t be scared of it, can they. Before you erect the hawk;
- Make up a string line of empty old tin cans, tied to a long string or rope.
- Tie or throw the string of cans up into the tree, so that when you pull the string the cans will bang together.
- Wait till dusk or just after dusk when the birds have returned to the palm tree to roost for the night.
- Pull the string so that the cans bang together and make a loud noise. This should frighten the birds out of the tree.
- Repeat pulling the can string line every half hour for a couple of hours each night that the birds return to the tree.
- You can also use a jet of water from a hose to blast the birds in the tree.
- After a few nights the birds should have found another place to roost.
Now it’s time to erect the Hawk bird scarer above the tree to stop birds returning to your tree. Do this by spiking the Hawk onto the end of a tall piece of pipe. Like in the diagram. Poke the pipe with the Hawk on the top of it up through the palm, so the hawk appears to be hovering above the palm. Tie the pipe to the palm so that it will remain upright. Your bird problems should be solved.
Another fellow to contact is Shirley De Silva. He has electronic devices to help. Phone (065) 452586 or write to Shirley at Kezia P/L PO Box 236 Scone NSW 2337.
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