Bird control at the pier

H

hack4alivin

Active Member
TECHNICAL Contributor
Apr 18, 2008
2,518
Joppa, Maryland
Boat Info
320 Dancer
Engines
Twin 350 V Drives
While playing with my Christmas present this morning I took this shoot. After viewing it I just had to laugh, do you think the Owl is going to scare away the birds from the pier.

CopyofMarinaWinter2010021.jpg
 
And then the owls will move in.....have you ever seen owl poop? yikes!:lol::smt043:lol:

Seriously though, the ducks where so bad this year at our dock I pulled my boat and am going to trailer again or find another dock with a lift. I would spend 1+ hours cleaning the boat before I could relax and enjoy the boat. This was every weekend minimum. I smile every time I get duck in a restaurant now!:thumbsup:
 
Nice shot.

I hate sea gulls. I do enjoy making them fly when they are sitting and not standing in the water. Thankfully they were not to bad last year.
 
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Bill were you looking up when they flew over..:grin:

Funny pic, reminded me of this..

survival-motivational-poster-fox-with-hounds-when-1.JPG
 
A good thread. We dock stern to the main spine so the birds avoid the swim platform, etc. due to pedestrian traffic but they really do enjoy our bow and foredeck.

So after some experimenting I started stringing fishing monofilament about 4-6" above the rail and, you guessed it, the birds stayed away. It may not work in every locale or on every boat but they definitely avoid our bow and - it seems - as a bonus fewer birds now land on the arch as well.

Sorry I can't send a photo but to describe the apparatus - I made small wooden posts about 10" high with 2 holes at the base through which I put stainless wire. When moored I wrap the wire around the rail uprights, hooking them to each other. There is a notch in the outboard side of each post at the top through which I tension the fishing line. At the bow I just wrap the line around the top of the flag pole. I then put a stainless hook at each end of the monofilament which clips to the aft section of the rail on each side. Voila! It's usually in place only when we leave the boat for a day or more - and no more poop cleaning on the foredeck when I return.

Hope this suggestion helps at least one other boater out there..
Cheers,
Warren
 
Warren said:
A good thread. We dock stern to the main spine so the birds avoid the swim platform, etc. due to pedestrian traffic but they really do enjoy our bow and foredeck.

So after some experimenting I started stringing fishing monofilament about 4-6" above the rail and, you guessed it, the birds stayed away. It may not work in every locale or on every boat but they definitely avoid our bow and - it seems - as a bonus fewer birds now land on the arch as well.

Sorry I can't send a photo but to describe the apparatus - I made small wooden posts about 10" high with 2 holes at the base through which I put stainless wire. When moored I wrap the wire around the rail uprights, hooking them to each other. There is a notch in the outboard side of each post at the top through which I tension the fishing line. At the bow I just wrap the line around the top of the flag pole. I then put a stainless hook at each end of the monofilament which clips to the aft section of the rail on each side. Voila! It's usually in place only when we leave the boat for a day or more - and no more poop cleaning on the foredeck when I return.

Hope this suggestion helps at least one other boater out there..
Cheers,
Warren
Click to expand...

I don't know if I could describe it any better, but you really have to put up some pics of this Warren. I fully understand that you are setting up some sort of monofilament web, but I just cannot seem to visualize the process of how you actually got there. Glad to hear that you have devised something that actually works. :smt038
 
To explain Cabaret III is securely shrink wrapped from the winter winds and I'm posting this from our Marco Is., Fla., condo - which should be far warmer tonight.

Try to visualize a thread of fishing line running 4" above the rail all around the forward section of our 400DA. I'm sure that you can borrow from my description to design your own method for your own boat. It's worth the effort - it works! Sorry no photos 'til April!
Cheers,
Warren
 
Warren said:
To explain Cabaret III is securely shrink wrapped from the winter winds and I'm posting this from our Marco Is., Fla., condo - which should be far warmer tonight.

Try to visualize a thread of fishing line running 4" above the rail all around the forward section of our 400DA. I'm sure that you can borrow from my description to design your own method for your own boat. It's worth the effort - it works! Sorry no photos 'til April!
Cheers,
Warren
Click to expand...

Thanx Warren, I see what you mean now. Sounds good to me. :thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Neat idea. Sounds like your setup simply interferes with the birds' wings when they takeoff from or land on your bow. I would like to see some video of birds making the attempt to visit your boat. I'd bet you'd see them "tripped" by the line as they come and go.
 
Our yellow lab will be aboard next year and she LOVES birds :) She had a blast when we were down on E Pier last fall snooping out the birds.
 
Our club is terrible for birds and bugs, the bugs come out in the evening and the birds eat the bugs in the morning. The fishing line does work.......get some plastic electrical conduit mounting bands the same diameter as your bow rail. They will snap right on and are tight enough that they won't roll around (on their own). Then run a 1 1/2" screw in the mounting hole in the plastic band, roll the band around so the screw is pointing staright up. Install these about 2' apart all the way around your bow rail, then add the fishing line, the fishing line will be about an 1" higher then the rail.

This is one boat that didn't have the fishing line, and that stupid owl aint worth a $hit. Those birds end up crapping all over the place.

John

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No I don't, but I'm going to Home Depot like in 15 minutes, I will pick one up and post a picture.

John
 
Warren said:
A good thread. We dock stern to the main spine so the birds avoid the swim platform, etc. due to pedestrian traffic but they really do enjoy our bow and foredeck.

So after some experimenting I started stringing fishing monofilament about 4-6" above the rail and, you guessed it, the birds stayed away. It may not work in every locale or on every boat but they definitely avoid our bow and - it seems - as a bonus fewer birds now land on the arch as well.

Sorry I can't send a photo but to describe the apparatus - I made small wooden posts about 10" high with 2 holes at the base through which I put stainless wire. When moored I wrap the wire around the rail uprights, hooking them to each other. There is a notch in the outboard side of each post at the top through which I tension the fishing line. At the bow I just wrap the line around the top of the flag pole. I then put a stainless hook at each end of the monofilament which clips to the aft section of the rail on each side. Voila! It's usually in place only when we leave the boat for a day or more - and no more poop cleaning on the foredeck when I return.

Hope this suggestion helps at least one other boater out there..
Cheers,
Warren
Click to expand...

That was a good description! I used the very same idea for my biminis. When in the closed position, the biminis made a great landing site for the birds. I just used small bungees to hold the posts against the vertical legs of the biminis, but I only had to do that four times.

I also strung a permanent string over the end of our pier. At the end, there is an "archway" (for lack of a better term) that we use as a high anchor point to pull in the ramp that goes down to the dock. Must have been about 5 years ago that I did this. Haven't seen a bird sitting there - or any "tell-tale" signs of a birds presence - since.

The string/line doesn't even have to go all the way to the end - just enough to cause interference with their wings.


John - looking forward to that picture. My bungee contraption works, just takes a bit of fooling with to get it right.
 
I first saw the fishing line trip at Busch Gardens in Tampa 40 years ago. They had a problem with birds swooping down on people eating outside a pizza parlor. They put up a web and no more birds.
 
Apparently birds don't like bright lights or reflections, so one of my blow boat buddies ran monofilament with blank cd's strung on them at like 2' intervals. It seems to do the job.

Doug
 
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