Dianasan,

"Will the zinnias send up side shoots or a new leader/bud?"

With the central bud gone, your zinnias will put out side shoots from the bases of their main leaves. I've never known sparrows to eat zinnias, but maybe I haven't had sparrows around my zinnias. Some people routinely pinch out the central zinnia bud anyway, to encourage lateral branching. So maybe the sparrows have done you a favor. I have had seed-eating birds go after my zinnia seeds, so I use "hair nets" to protect my hand-pollinated zinnia seedheads.

{{gwi:19653}}
I make my zinnia nets out of black fabric netting and black yarn with a large needle.

"I was hoping to plant them in my flower beds in a few days. Could I put the damaged plants in too or should I discard them?"

I would use the damaged plants. They could develop into nice looking zinnias.

ZM

Thanks, Zinman. It's reassurring to know that I don't have to discard the damaged zinnias. Neat idea making your own little 'hair nets' for your flowers.I actually buy those little tule bags they use for party favors, but yours are probably more economical.

You've also given me the idea that these little nets are not just good for saving seeds, they could also be used to protect young plants that are under attack by bugs or critters. Think I'll sew some up over the winter for use next spring.

Oilpainter, you've got a point. I didn't actually see if the sparrow was pecking at a zinnia or at a bug on the zinnia. But in any case, it couldn't have been an earwig because I had a lot of earwig damage on many of my plants this summer and it doesn't look like the type of damage that's been done to my zinnias. I've seen several grasshoppers in my yard lately. They might be responsible.

I actually did make up a batch of your earwig bait and it really does work.

Thank you both for your help.

Here is the damage done by tiny birds. Maybe goldfinch? They are eating the leaves and the petals off the flowers. We've treated for earwigs and no slugs. We've watched the birds eat the leaves. Don't know what to do to stop them other than covering all the plants.

Hello HearGodsHeart,

I see that you are a new member of GardenWeb, so on behalf of everybody, welcome. I am a zinnia hobbyist, myself, and I have never seen birds eat zinnia foliage like that. The damage to the zinnia plant in your picture is mostly just cosmetic, and no threat to the growth of the plant and its soon bloom. I have had seed-eating birds damage mature blooms severely, to get their semi-ripe seeds. They eat the seeds and discard the petals on the ground.

I picked a few nine-spotted cucumber beetles off of my zinnias today. They eat tiny holes in petals and leaves. But birds eating zinnia foliage is just bizarre. Keep us posted on this problem.

ZM

Goldfinches may eat the seeds, but I don't think they would bother the leaves. I suspect you have some tiny caterpillar, maybe it is on the underside of the leaves. Those look like bite marks on the edges of the holes. I've watched caterpillars eat leaves and that's the kind of marks they leave.

I have caught Goldfinches and other birds on my zinnias picking off the seeds and dropping them around my zinnia garden. They causege a lot of damage

If anyone knows a way to keep them out ? Would be very helpful.

The only way you can keep birds out is with a bird net. After they discover they can't get what they want they will go away. I once had a flock of cedar wax wings--there must have been about 30 or 40 of them-- invade my strawberry patch and eat all the ripe parts of the berries. After 2 evenings of shooing them away only to have them come right back I bought a net. Actually I sewed 2 together with fishing line to cover the entire large patch and weighted all the edges with whatever I could find that would keep the birds out. The next evening I heard the birds creating a terrible racket and flying down to the patch. I went out to investigate and 1 had manage to get under the net and was trapped. Amid dive bombing I managed to free him and the birds flew away never to return. I still have that net but never found another use for it

crikey ... enjoy the birds .. or plant something else..

really.. how do i keep birds out of nature ...

see link

ken

https://www.google.com/search?q=glass+conservatory&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMIxrjN0peBxwIVWH-SCh3TQANu&biw=873&bih=745&dpr=0.9

I am suffering from the same problem in Kolkata (India). Sparrows and common Mynas are eating up the seedlings of the zinnia.

I have seen this happening. They usually eat the seedlings leaves but the ones in a hurry end up uprooting the whole seedling.

They have actually managed to damage all 36 seedlings I grown in just 3 days.

Today morning the ate up my Orange Seedling. Can anybody pls inform me if there's any way to stop this seedling from dying.

Hello Tirthendu Dey

" Today morning they ate up my Orange Seedling. Can anybody pls inform me if there's any way to stop this seedling from dying?"

In the absence of a photo, I can't determine the extent of damage to your seedling, so I don't have enough information relevant to stopping your zinnia seedling from dying. And we might just be saving it for further damage from your Sparrows and Mynas.

I have never had birds eat zinnia seedlings or plants. I have had seed-eating birds like finches eat the seeds that were developing in a zinnia bloom, and frequently tear the bloom apart to get at the seeds. Occasionally a bird will just land on a bloom and the weight and momentum of the bird will bend or even break the stem of the bloom. I use a variety of reflective additions to my garden to scare the birds away. I also don't want the birds to be eating the butterflies and skippers that frequent my zinnia blooms.

Once again, I don't know what your situation is in India, but here in the "States", we have a variety of products to scare birds away from our gardens. You might be able to improvise something using reflective aluminum foil or tin cans with any paper labels removed.

ZM

Hello again, Tirthendu Dey,

I wonder if the present-day Bird Flu could be playing a role in the atypical behavior of birds relative to their damaging zinnias.

Incidentally, is Kolkata the same as Calcutta, except for the spelling? Despite the spelling difference, the two names sound very similar.

Also incidentally, this is a closeup photo of one of my inexpensive reflective bird-scaring pinwheels. A slight breeze can cause these pinwheels to turn.

I have a variety of reflective things in my zinnia gardens, and they do a reasonably good job of keeping the seed-eating birds away. So far we haven't seen any birds that were obviously affected by the bird flu, although our poultry may catch it.

Our guineas do a good job of preventing ticks around our house and grounds. Except for leaving a few tracks on freshly made seedbeds, the guineas don't harm our gardens. I hope the Bird Flu doesn't get them.

ZM

Thanks Zen for the prompt support.

Yes, Kolkata and Calcutta are the same. Kolkata used to be the actual name but during the British rule they found it difficult to pronounce so they conveniently changed the name to Calcutta but Geoffrey Boycott the great English Cricketer again found it hard to pronounce 😆

Coming back to the bird issue. I tried posting photos but it's not displaying. I consulted with a ornithologist friend of mine. He says this phenomenon is going on with the sparrows and common mynas for a decade now. In the last decade the birds have discovered that new seedlings are a tremendous source of viral nutrients and also keeps them hydrated. He says this is a complex behavior which has resulted due to global warming and excessive mobile towers with high bandwidth. He also fears that this could also result to behavioral changes of the birds which includes violent behavior.

Coming to the solution, he suggested using mosquito nets to shield the plants. That should work. However, he says that it would be a lifetime installation as the birds will be attracted to the flowers for the seeds.

I will try the pinwheels too. It's a good

Hello again, Tirthendu Dey,

Thanks for the confirmation that Kolkata and Calcutta are the same.

"Coming back to the bird issue. I tried posting photos but it's not displaying."

What file format are you using to post your photos? I submit fairly compact JPG files, many of which are only 1000 pixels wide. Incidentally, I may have already mentioned this, but you can click on the photos here to see a large version and then click on the "X" in the upper righthand corner of the large version to close it.

I use concrete remesh wire to make "zinnia cages" to help support my zinnias in our considerable Kansas winds. Those same cages, or something very similar, could be used to support some sort of fabric netting to exclude birds. You mentioned mosquito nets as a possibility. Another possibility would be Bird Netting (that is a link to offerings from our Amazon). I don't know if you have an Amazon, but you might have a company that sells Bird Netting.

I make my "zinnia cages" from concrete remesh wire that comes in large rolls. I think the roll I used was 100-foot long by 8 feet wide. This was part of a roll I was using.

We should try to figure out how you can submit photos here. I click on "Photo" in the message editing line and navigate to a directory on my computer where I have suitable photos and I click on one and click "Open" to trigger its transfer to here.

This potentially changing ominous behavior of birds is almost like a science fiction movie plot.

More later.

ZM (not associated with any product or vendor mentioned or linked)

Hello again, Tirthendu Dey,

This is an experiment to post a TIF file here.

File size can determine whether Houzz accepts a photo or not. I was unable to upload any of my TIFs in the 100MB size range. The pic of soaker hoses was about half that. This bloom TIF was a bit smaller yet.

I will probably try some more image uploading experiments tomorrow.

ZM