rutgers1, this is the funniest post I have ever seen... I'm laughing so hard right now...

I'll reply in a little bit...

Sprinkle a little more mulch to cover the seeds. Roll the seeds into the soil with a light roller. Walk up and down a few times on the seeds to force them into the soil. Keep the seed bed moist. Squirt the birds with your sprinklers. Accept the fact that the birds will get their share. In return, they will leave little presents for you on your lawn.

I didn't notice it with birds, but I was looking at a newly seeded spot the other day and I saw a seed wiggle a little. At first I thought I happened upon it at the time it was trying to put roots into the soil. But then it started moving and I noticed a line of seeds all trekking toward an anthill.

Isn't there like 1.5 million KBG seeds per lb.? Even if the bird eat tens of thousands there should still be plenty of seeds left?

Hold me up, Auteck. My knees are weak from laughing so hard.

This is very common, Rutgers. Next will come the squirrels, so the topdressing can't hide them because the squirrels are going to dig looking for more seeds. Like gbig says, you'll still be fine.

Oh, I needed that laugh!

Yes, one bird finds seed and then proceeds to yank out his cell phone and call all the other birds in the area. Soon, every bird within twenty miles is out on the lawn. Flocks from the next state are just hitting cruising altitude and will arrive sometime tomorrow.

Go ahead and try to scare them off. They outnumber you. Ever seen the Alfred Hitchcock classic? Move slowly and do not carry grain-based food items...

Really, you'll be just fine. You dropped millions of seeds, the birds can't possibly consume more than several tens of thousands--or less than 1%. The scratching and pecking also helps settle the seed in contact with soil and cover it, increasing germination of those seeds near the one(s) consumed.

Bird poo contains great fertilizer, so there's another added benefit.

I wasn't trying to be funny, but glad you all got a laugh. I guess I am just panicking because I blew a lot of time and money on this overseed....slit seeder, compost, peat moss, milorganite. My neighbors already think I am nuts after a summer of hand-picking weeds every week, and I am sure the top-dressed lawn is also drawing some laughs. If they saw the cheetah I was going to rent to scare the birds away, I think they would know I was nuts for sure.

cheetah

Living or stuffed? :-)

Sit back and enjoy the opportunity to see some birds you've probably rarely seen before. I have robins (going after the millipedes and tiny insects eating the dead grass), a Northern Oriole, several mockingbirds, finches and sparrows galore (mostly the more common sorts) and a bluebird.

I've never seen a bluebird up close before. Pretty!

You're going to need potassium and possibly more phosphorus. Be sure to get that done in the next month or two.

It comes in at dusk. The rain is falling. It starts to feed where I have seeded certain areas of the lawn with Kentucky Fescue. The perpetrator is a wren or chickadee. I can`t tell which. Doesn`t matter. It sees me staring at it but pays me no heed. Nyom, nyom, nyom! It eats with impunity. I know if I leave it alone, it will call of its friends to a free grass seed party. I toiled to make my lawn better. It doesn`t care. It only wants to feed. It can`t be bought. It can`t be reasoned with. It will never stop, ever....until it is dead. I want to put the iron sight of cold steel upon it. It will not best me. I will not let it win. I scared one of them off earlier. I think it is back. I know it is only a matter of time until it returns.

Signing off.

Yes I have

Quote "Shoot the birds. Honestly."

Make sure you know how to identify birds, and know your state and local laws pertaining to wild life. Otherwise you could be hit with large fines, and prison terms depending on the bird and the law.

Our biggest (both ways) bird pest are vultures. While they don't nest in our yard we have seen several dozen nesting in the trees in the back yard. There are area back there where the ground is white from vulture poop. Fortunately the rain washes it away.

However it is uncomfortable trying to take a nap on the patio

Most of the time they do see me seeding the lawn and then descend by large numbers. Birds are smart and very hungry. They have high metabolisms. This year for some reason the lookouts were not doing their job. Or maybe we do have fewer birds which is sad to note.

They are just as bad when you are planting sunflowers, zinnia etc. Their eyes are much better than ours and can spot seeds that just seem to blend into the dirt when we are looking. Remarkable creatures and think about what difficult lives they lead. They survive all weathers with little shelter and are subject to predation, have very delicate young. Unless they get all of my seeds I do not begrudge them.

We have vultures watching over our little town.