Good luck. I think the key is to change up the scare tactic. The birds get used to one thing and become almost acclimated to it. I think it helps if the 'target' moves in the breeze. Let us know how this trick works for you.

I don't know if it's just luck, but I've had no bird problems since I started using that cheap plastic netting stuff.. and I don't even cover the tree. I just put 2-3' wide strips of it hung around the branches near the fruit and I think they get scared when they see it.

I do it for my newly started plants too and haven't lost any that had the netting around them. Some that were 5 feet away without netting got dug out though.

It's a little bit of a pain to remove it from the tree because it gets all tangled in the branches, but worth it if it actually works.