Ken,

Count your blessings! At least you still have birds. The birds and bees have virtually disappeared from my area. I so miss the Cardinals, Orchard Orioles, Carolina Wrens and even the stinking Blue Jays.

Even so, I still feel your loss. I'm willing to share with nature, but why is it always the ripest and best that get eaten or ruined? Those blueberries really sound good right now!

jt

I love blueberries, too, so that would be a hard loss.

But I'm missing a lot of the birds I used to see and I guess if I had to choose, I'd pick the birds over the berries.

Audubon Society: Nationwide populations of 20 common birds fell at least by half during the past four decades.

I know that here in Oregon the rufous hummingburd that migrates from Mexico has declined by 79% in 40 years.

Carol

Here is a link that might be useful: Common Birds in Decline

Ken,
Something I tried with my peach tree, I got some aluminum foil and cut it into strips then poked a hole through one end and tied them to the tree with bright orange yarn. Not only do the shine but the blow around in the breeze and kept the birds away. It worked really well. I know you said you have 30 bushes but maybe do a few and at least get some berries.

Keep us posted,
Susan in NC

I have tried owls, foil, CD's, big reflector beach balls with shiny tassles, noise makers, water sprays, nothing helps. Mocking birds are the biggest offenders, then robins, and bluejays. Even after all the ripe blues were gone, a bird went out there and spent half an hour on one bush, just looking for a single berry that had turned blue. Yesterday, there was about a quart, thats when I should have picked, even though it was getting dark outside. Here, I see 4 sets of cardinals in winter, dozens of gold finches, tufted titmice, nuthatch, chickadee, wrens, sparrows, etc. Also a few woodpeckers, and one is a biggy, who chases everyone else away, he has thin black and white stripes on his head, with a bright read spot. He gets the hulless seeds mixed with suet (gournmet!). Luckily, the blues all ripen at different times, so I can try to put a tent of bird mesh over a couple. The feed of birds was a tradition my dad did for many years. I go through about 500 pounds of bird seed every winter, mostly black oil sunflower seeds and thisle for the finches

I did the CD thing on my cherry tree and as soon as I put them up and got sat down in the chair with my drink, a raccoon ran out of the bush next to the tree and went up there to inspect!

Ken, if you dont want to fool with the netting how about draping row covers over the bushes? It comes in very long lengths and nice widths...this is what I had to do for my strawberry plants..the sun and rain can get through but not the birds..you might try that next year...just a thought.

>...a raccoon ran out of the bush next to the tree and went up there to inspect!

Raccoons trapped in the last week now at 5. Yesterday got a possum.

I tried an owl decoy on my deck trellis 6-8 years ago to keep the birds away from my Sungold tomato vines that run up the sides and tumble down the trellis top. It drew every Blue Jay and squirrel for miles around. They screamed and scolded that thing until I took it down.

The only thing the bird decline has helped is keeping poison ivy under control somewhat on my property. It used to be everywhere.

I've seen bird netting that isn't so unsightly before. Nylon tulle comes in many colors and although only 4' wide does come in whatever length you want. Some of the colors are nearly invisible. A friend with a serger on her sewing machine makes blossom bags for me and also bags large enough for an entire pepper container.

The light weight plastic fabric might help to prevent accidental removal of the berries during application. Birds are crafty, they find an opening under the coverings and still get in. As to bagging part of a bush, that might help. The plastic fabric is easily made into bags by using an impulse heat bag sealer. I have made some of these fabric bags in all sizes and shapes. My dad had put in 2 inch pipes all around the bushes, and was planning on running pipes across each other. That way, the plastic net type covering would drape a further distance away from the bushes, and wouldn't pull off berries as much. If I were to carefully place the netting over them, any berries are near the net, birds will land on that netting and just poke into the holes to get the blues. Right now, there isn't a single berry that even half blue. Have to wait a few days for the weather to get warm again. My row covering will probably be used on whats left of the early ripening blues. All I want is a couple of quarts, birds, gimme a break!

See how smart I am? I planted my blueberries (all 4 bushes) in containers and I've got them inside as they ripen. Probably get a whole pint.

Now the cherry tree is another matter. As I drove in today, about 34,665 magpies flew out of it.

Our most irritating bird is a phoebe. It is a marvel to watch as it swoops down off the perch and catches a moth or insect on the wing. The only problem is it likes bees. It is a constant predator around the hives. I haven't inspected the bees for awhile, but I can just imagine, that durned bird is helping to keep the bee population under control.

The jays and mockingbirds also catch one now and then, but that phoebe is in the major leagues. Strangely, the only other phoebe I've seen is another specie altogether, but it only stayed a day or two. My little varmint doesn't appear to have a mate otherwise.

About your blueberries - wouldn't it be possible to prune them quite low? I've seen pictures of PVC pipe with netting around it for blueberries. I've had to use the PVC cages over my planting boxes, otherwise I wouldn't have any veggies either. Mostly, they are to keep skunks out of the boxes, rather than birds.

Bejay

These bushes are huge, some are up to 10 foot tall now. I do cut a few tall branches down though. As a present, I saw the remnents of a blue colored egg shell. It must have been a robin egg, and the shell was on my door mat outside the back door, don't know how it got there. Tomorrow I plan to cover three of the bushes with the white fabric, but I must also anchor it close to the ground so they can't sneak in or out from the bottom.

Ken,

Get a cat.

David, Boy! You sure can count fast!! (grin). You're sure there were 34,665 magpies??

Bearstate, My cats don't do squat! They won't even defend their own food dish against the jays, much less MY blueberries.

Deanna

Cat, ha, there are several in the neighborhood. Thats probably why there were blues one day and none the next. That cat sits and waits. He's all white, so is easily seen. Only problem is, in winter he also scares the birds away. A seagull paid his respects today too. At work, my cars black outside rear view mirror was covered in all white.. ugh! A lady was in the hardware store asking what the wild birds like as to food. I asked here what kind of birds she was feeding. Her answer was: "I don't know, I buy the seeds to attract the birds and my cat eats the birds". We also have red tailed hawks here. Big, sneaky and can nail a pidgeon in one swoop. Wish they were around when the blueberries were raided..

Just on my way out the door - to inspect the apricot trees. I noticed my "resident" mockingbird has taken a proprietary approach to that part of my yard. That tree - and a new one really loaded. So - will try to make a presence during the day - because not much else seems to work - and they are quite unafraid of me as well. THEIR back yard.

Strangely enough - just a month ago, that mockingbird had a few young-uns on the ground - out of the nest before they could fend alone. To think I befriended them, keeping the neighbor's cats at bay. WHAT WAS I THINKING?

Bejay

Damned if you do, and damned if you don't.. Hard to decide, but the motto" "survival of the fittest" comes to mind too..

Thought of you this weekend Ken as I draped a net over my 'blues'. They're just starting to ripen.

This is only the third year for them, so not tons of berries and I'd like to eat some, not feed to the birds!

Deanna

I think the idea of covering with the white fabric might work well. It must be anchored to the ground though, so birds can't find a way in. Once in a while I see a huge berry sticking out well beyond the birds reach, (unless they can hover in mid air!) and that is one I can enjoy.. I have berries ripening at different times on different bushes.
To help increas your berry yield, add some HollyTone fertilizer, as well as a dose of elemntal sulfur. You wnat the soil to be very acidic at all times. Avoid using the fast acting aluminium sulfate, as its not a good way to acidify the blues soil. Even a 3 year old bush can have lots of berries. My dads bushes average about 10-14 foot in diameter, and most are planted with good spacing between each. He did plant some way too close to the greenhouse and I have to go out every year and chop off many long, new, limbs that hit the glass. Oddly, its the cat bird, dark gray color, and meows like a cat..

Darn!
They ate most of the ripe ones THROUGH the netting.
Grrr.............

Wiley coyote going back to the drawing board..............

Deanna

Yup, so you need to drape the net over some supports so that it will not come in contact with the bushes.

I buy up sheer curtains at garage sales. Drape them over the bushes and hold in place with clothespins. Works for me. And economical!

Those curtains need to be really big here. A 10+ foot tall blueberry bush that has a width of almost the same diameter would need some 'serious' sheer curtains.. Actually, the white plastic fabric isn't too expensive and you can find 12 foot wide material with many different lengths.

Yesterday I went out with my bowl to pick the finally ripe white peaches and found the tree stripped of every last peach.... 'coons I suspect.

All the birds you all are missing are in my yard... or else I have a bird-breeding sanctuary here. We've gone from one pair of Orioles to 8 pairs in four years. If you can name a western bird then we probably have it somewhere breeding on our property.... the Quail are on their 3rd litter already. We have a totally pesticide-free property so there are plenty of bugs to eat... and, of course, the various fruit trees with fruits that ripen in succession for a constant food source. I guess I've made my own problems.

Lost every single peach a few years ago. It turned out to be a deer that took them all, as the branches were just too thin and high up for a 'coon. It doesn't happen now, beause a car hit the deer and it was found dead in my next door neighbors driveway.

ksrogers, like you I feed the birds ...all year long and they pick my cherry trees clena every year! I've caught them pecking hole in my tomatoes too. But my biggest problem is the squirrels. They eat my peaches, necterines, green apples (while small) and yesterday I watched one go up the pear tree and come down with a pear :(

I've got netting on some of the trees that are still small enough and that keeps them out, but this year most of my apple trees are too big for the netting. I have one peach tree that had quite a few peaches and I put the net on it. This week when I went to check on it's progress there isn't one peach on the tree! They aren't on the ground nor in the netting. And the netting is still closed at the bottom. I have no idea where these peaches went or how they went.
But it gets very tiring each year dealing with the squirrels..because I also seem to lose the battle.

For me, squirrels are vermin and are just like chipmunks and most other rodents. I have 'exterminated' most of the squirrels around here over the past few years. Either baited rat traps with nice big juicy grapes, the Hav-a-hart and relocate them 20 miles away, or just shoot them with my high powered pellet rifle. In the late spring, I stop feeding birds as there is plenty for them to eat because of all the insects. In the fall, the feeders go back out. The last 4 days, I have been picking some really nice big red raspberries. Three years ago, I planted 3 canes of thornless raspberry canes, of the 'Lauren' variety. Quite hardy and have sent up 5 times more new canes compared to the puny ones my dad planted years ago. They seem to ripen in just a day or two. Birds do seem to attack a few, but dislike all those big seeds. The plastic screen netting can easily be chewed through by squirrels. Its not very useful for rodent protection.

Well, late today, I noticed that there were sitll some blueberries left out there. Before the birds got to these, I went out an pickled almost a gallon of them. Hope to make blueberry preserves. Its a toss up though, whether I should mix them with the red raspberries and make a mixed berry jam, or leave them seperate. I plan to go out early n
tomorrow to grab a few more before they are all gone. Also apples are now falling, so they are ready. Am I going to be busy!

This was the first year for some fairly decent sized grapes - Thompson's, I think. Was guarding them jealously, but something finally found them. Maybe birds, but also have seen a few Japanese type beetles (not too many tho), and could be either.

I found some old panty hose, and made nice little socks for them. Unfortunately, they plowed right through them.

To salvage, I decided to try drying them for raisins. They could have been a bit bigger, but I did get about a pint.

Sooo - maybe next year. Funny thing, the plums were so plentiful, that we all had too many. Why couldn't they just fill up on those?

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay