I bought a "Motion-Activated Sprinkler" to "try" to keep the squirrels from getting my mangoes.

I can't say it worked that well for what I bought it for but it might work for tomatoes?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009F1R0GC

or (easier to move around)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CD3UWPA

Build a cage out of something like chicken wire. I use a square wire mesh that has much smaller openings than chicken wire, but it is also stiffer.

Cats are good for scaring mockingbirds - and sometimes they catch and kill them.

Some people save the clear plastic clam shells from things like blueberries and put them around the tomato To save them from birds, rabbits, etc.

Years ago a mockingbird was constantly dive bombing my mother’s dog. They are such a menace!

MBs can be a real nuisance alright Carol, I've never had a problem with them on my tomatoes but they'll do a number on my blueberries every Spring. To (try) and deter them I place old stuffed animals (cats & dogs) in the bushes along with some rubber snakes. Periodically move them around a bit to keep it fresh. Old stuffed animals (any with Big Eyes will do) can be cheaply bought at Good Will stores, Thrift & Consignment and Flea market shops. I'll hang a few on strings to move in the breeze too.

Could you put that bird netting over the whole plant? My friend put it over her peach tree.

Any netting or cage needs to be kept away from the plant. A body even as light as a bird pushing against it can reach what you are trying to protect. I second the suggestion of putting out water. You need to change the water frequently but you can toss it on the ground underneath your plants.

Oh, no, I did not know mocking birds bother tomatoes! I love the cheer of mocking birds but never get more than two in the area at once, and I've never seen them mess with my garden. Sorry, no suggestions.

I second putting out a source of water for the birds. Squirrels and chipmunks also will peck fruits and vegetables looking for water.

Carol, I have a Scarecrow by Contech motion activated sprayer for deer - much like Richard mentioned above. We don't have mockingbirds, but something the size of a robin will trigger it if set for smaller animals. I had all my roses on the W side of the house and it did a great job of protecting those....from the deer, not robins. I haven't really used it here much, larger lot and with a softly L shaped house I'd need about three...they don't spray around corners ;0) I left the roses behind when we moved, miss them.

Thanks for all the responses and suggestions everyone 🙂

There is a birdbath next to the tomato bed. I'm thinking I should move it further away, but not sure that would do any good. The birds seem to be more interested in the fruit than thirsty.

I can't build a cage because this is an area approx. 12'X 10', containing about 10 long-vined indeterminate plants. I witnessed several birds stalking around under the plants and jumping up into them to peck at the fruits.

I honestly don't want to spend more money than the plants and fruit are worth.

TBH, I think they've gotten everything they can reach now, and hopefully the rest is safe.

FWIW, mockingbirds are our state bird here, and in addition to singing beautifully, they are truly fearless. They'll attack ravens, crows, birds of prey, pets and even humans during nesting season.

I like the stuffed animal trick. I was already thinking about those scare-eyes devices - something I could easily make myself. Because I'm isolating, thrift stores are out of the question right now, but I do have a stash of old toys, paint and fabric.

Home Depot has a spray that's supposed to repel all kinds of critters - including birds. Has anyone tried it?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bonide-32-oz-Repels-All-Animal-Repellent-Ready-To-Use-238/202022320

Wondering about whether whirligigs/ pinwheels might work...?

What about building a fence from hog panels around the area and putting the netting on the top?

Rubber snakes? I bought every one my local Walmart had when I moved down here. Did they work? I don't know.

Would red food coloring in their fountain distract them? :-) I doubt it but it might be interesting to try.

Do you let them fully ripen on the vine before picking them?

When I joined Gardenweb it was because of tomato problems. (humidity, heat, late spring rains?)

Growing up in Ohio, I was taught that for a tomato to develop full taste, it needed to fully ripen on the vine. But experts on the Growing Tomatoes forum were saying that once a tomato begins to flush, it would taste as good as if left until fully ripe. I was skeptical but with all the problems here, I started doing it that way. Before that, sometimes I'd have a nice big beautiful tomato that just needed one or two more days, so I'd leave it. But the next day it would have beak holes in it. Now I don't gamble, I don't risk losing it, I pick it and get it inside before a bird gets it. I became the early bird?

Do they taste as good when picked before fully ripe? I think to me they do. And this way "I" get to eat them. :) (I don't pick them so early that they have to set so long that they start to dehydrate)

Maybe that's why I haven't thought too much about Mockingbirds lately?

I really really need to actually spray that darn caterpillar spray I just bought. That's how I've lost the most tomatoes this year.

Carol, I don't think birds are said to have much of a sense of smell. They don't 'smell well'. So if you remove the scent category from your animal repellent product you showed, that would leave taste. I can't imagine it wouldn't flavor your tomatoes - that you would notice the taste. I don't know if it would wash off.

I like Bobbex deer repellent, but I've never put it on raspberries, strawberries, plants I'm going to be eating the fruit. It's non toxic, but suspect those garden things may not taste good after applying the repellent.

Carol, I got lucky at one Thrift store and found a stuffed owl in the kids section and a plastic garden owl in the used garden section. Those plastic owls are like $20 reg price, but it was just $5 at the thrift store. I even have an old Elmo to put out in the blueberries.

I don’t have a huge problem with birds pecking mine, but I do have issues with raccoons and possums. I usually have to start picking them when pink instead of waiting until they are vine ripe. Last year we went to war and wrapped each tomato cage with bird netting. Seemed to help a lot but those crafty critters would still try to get to the fruit close to the netting and somehow pull it toward them enough to take a bite. It did help though.

I have a big plastic owl. The birds ignore it and other owls will literally perch in the oaks above it, not caring. I orginally got it to deter the hawks from getting my chickens but the hawks are used to it and don't care..even if I move it around to different places lol.

I had forgotten the owl. I too bought a big plastic owl with a bobbing head. I don't think it helped a bit. Finally it broke and I threw it away.

If mockingbirds will attack a human or a hawk, owls probably wouldn't faze them one bit.

Hog panels would definitely cost a lot more than the plants and fruit are worth 😄

And yes - they've been pecking the fruits before they're fully red - the minute there's even a hint of red, it seems. And I do pick them when only partially ripe and let them finish ripening inside, but the longer they can stay on the vine, the better, IME.

The good news is - and I hope I'm not jinxing it - that there were no pecks today. As I stated above, I think they got all the ones they could reach through the netting. There are quite a few totally green ones right now that they seem to be ignoring.

The ones I wrapped loosely in sheer fabric also seem to be escaping notice.

I'm glad it's winter, because I had a horrible experience with a black racer snake and bird netting that I wrote about on FL Gardening. Snakes should be hibernating right now, otherwise I'd try to avoid using netting.

What I did was make a sort of bunchy, several inches thick, 'nest' with pieces of bird netting around the fruit clusters and stems, hoping it would keep the birds from landing on the branches. The places they got at before were close to stems and supports they could hang on to.

It's a learning process...

Now how did I forget this? We have trouble with birds getting our grapes and apples. We bought huge toy spiders at Dollar Tree around Halloween. Placing those on clusters of fruit and at the top of the vines does a surprisingly good job of scaring the birds away. But it we don't move them to new spots every 3-4 days the birds gradually get braver and braver and will get to the fruit. That's actually interesting to see. Some birds are braver than their mates. Some hold back until it is really well established that those spiders aren't going to do anything.

The spiders are usually flocked, black, and as big as my hand. Nothing like that lives around here, so it seems to be something at an instinctual level that makes the birds stand back. They sometimes cost $1 each and sometimes 2 or 3 for $1. They last more than a year. Won't help you this year, but perhaps you could experiment when such spiders are sold next Halloween.

On our peaches, bird scare tape does a fine job and even seems to keep away squirrels. Your tomatoes probably need protection a longer period than that, but birds will get used to bird scare tape, too, if you leave it up more than maybe three weeks. Maybe you can switch up your mockingbird defenses for better effect.

The mockingbirds just ignore the scare tape. I'm leaving it up in case there are other birds it does work on.

Hog panels will last for many years and give you a permanent area for protected vegetable gardening. After a decade they would more than pay for themselves in saved produce and the time and aggravation of fighting wildlife.

FWIW, I live on a densely populated suburban island. The only wildlife pests we deal with here are the occasional possum or racoon, birds and most of all - rats 🐀