Recordings of Elvis Presley or the sound of tortured seagulls, chilli paste on mastheads, Falconry and glued glass shards are just some of the extreme measures boat owners go to in a bid to rid their boats of birds and their calling cards!
While all the products and ideas people use to deter birds can provide amusement at times for the passer by, if it is your boat they are on, it is so exasperating that dark thoughts of revenge on our feathered friends could start to enter your mind.
I will declare upfront that I am a bird lover of sorts, not an obsessed Twitcher, but I have always enjoyed birds, probably something I inherited from my late grandfather Ian Gall who authored books on the subject. However, the mess birds leave on my clients’ clean boats is almost enough to send me to the dark side also, and seek vengeance!
I always thought I knew a thing or two about birds and their behaviour, but I wasn’t prepared for their sheer determination! I’m currently waging a battle with a couple of pigeons who have decided to take up roost on one of my client’s boats. Their new home is on the top step of the ladder, under the aft awning. Simple I thought – disrupt their habits by placing netting around the area and they will move on and become someone else’s problem (sorry!). Well, if only it was that easy! These crafty birds have managed to pull the increasingly better secured netting aside three times and continue reminding me they are obviously getting enough to eat! I have now been forced to fit a new canvas cover over the ladder. Although I may have won this battle I am sure I haven’t won the war.
The birds we mainly deal with at RQYS are Swallows, Pigeons, Shags (or Cormorants) and Seagulls, although we do have a couple of Brahminy Kites (Sea Eagles) who favour the highest masts in the harbour. My observations are that the Swallows and Pigeons are the main offenders. The Shags and Seagulls tend to rest in the more open spaces like the end pontoons and empty berths on the new marina. Thankfully we don’t suffer Hamilton Island’s Cockatoos. They are famous for chewing all your masthead cables which gets expensive to repair. I also look after some boats on the Brisbane River where Swallows are the main culprits but one boat suffers the effects of a Shag which is nothing short of corrosive to the gelcoat!
Since time began there have been ‘snake oil’ salesmen offering miracle cures for just about anything, and I suppose bird deterrents are one of those sales opportunities. The amount of different products on the market is staggering. While most promise and do offer some sort of deterrent initially, I find birds eventually become used to them. As already mentioned, a physical barrier like the ladder cover is often the only way to beat them. The down side to covers, netting and ribbons is the time it takes to set up after each trip and for some owners, it just isn’t worth the effort. The set up becomes more time consuming than the clean up!
As anyone who is suffering bird activity will tell you, apart from the obvious mess that needs to be cleaned off, the droppings actually stain the paintwork or gelcoat. There is no miracle cure for the clean up process I’m afraid but the sooner it is removed the better. The effects of the overnight night dew, followed by daily sun tend to bond it to the surface and enhance the staining process. A general wash with a strong detergent will not budge the staining. While I have seen people using abrasive cream cleaners, which certainly work, I wouldn’t recommend this method as it is the equivalent to using a fine grit sand paper every time. When any of our client’s boats suffer bird activity we find the best option is to polish the stains out. However the routine cleaning programs we have in place tends to keep the problem under control.
Some of the bird deterrent products & home made methods available
- The replica Owl
- Old CD’s dangling on short lines
- Humming ribbons
- Fishing line positioned to interrupt their perch
- The gull sweeps as seen on navigational beacons
- Ultrasonic noise emitting devices
- Plastic snakes
- Netting and physical barriers such as ladder covers
Most of these products and ideas have some merit and are worth a try. However, as one long time boater and bird deterrent enthusiast recently told me, “nothing works better than movement around the boat, that is, being onboard regularly or being moored in one of the busier areas of the marina certainly helps”. Basically people movement is the best deterrent in his opinion and trust me he has tried everything!
Happy bird free boating!
