Sulphur-crested c0ckatoos - how to make them go away?

Mike Harding · Guru

Sulphur-crested c0ckatoos - how to make them go away?

yobarr · Guru

Mike Harding wrote:
A large flock of sulphur-crested c0ckatoos have developed a new game, it's called "Let's sit high in the trees directly over Harding's camp crapping on his solar panels and driving him crazy with screeching until he leaps up and down flapping his arms like a demented eagle". Personally, I don't think it's much fun.
I mean... this is a forest, there's a bloody hell of a lot of trees here! Why can't they move 50m?
Other than a shotgun, which I don't currently have, do you guys have any suggestions for encouraging the birds to move on?

Hi Mike. Just asked Mr Google "how to get rid of sulphur-crested cookatoos" and there's lots of ideas. Plastic bags, eagle shaped scarecrows etc. Keep us informed of progress. Good luck! Cheers

Mike Harding · Guru

Hi Yobbarr

I Googled it a few days past and although there are lots of good ideas they mainly seem to be aimed at keeping the birds away from specific areas, eg. a veranda, I couldn't find any ideas to persuade a whole flock to sod off. In my case there are often around 100? birds perched 10m+ in the trees directly over the campsite and they laugh at things such as plastic bags and scarecrows.

I think it really needs something like a gunshot to sacre them off, I'm giving thoughts to making a gas gun of some sort but homemade explosives of any kind are not usually a good idea.

RichardK · Senior Member

Hi Mike,
The only time we have seen white c0ckatoos silenced was at Coolah Tops when a couple of Kites (the bird kind) appeared, the whites immediately disappeared into the trees and kept very quiet.
If I recall correctly you are close to tha Murray and there must be millions of the blighters there and are they noisy.....

Cheers
RichardK

-- Edited by RichardK on Tuesday 21st of June 2022 12:30:36 PM

rgren2 · Guru

Dont know if itd work but, remember the loud bang when paper bags were blown up then broken with your hand? Makes a very loud bang. Slingshot comes to mind also.

Wanda · Guru

Yes shift

Buzz Lightbulb · Guru

We get c0ckatoos. They eat the buds and seeds in the nearby trees. Could that be what they are doing above you? If so, they will eventually leave once the food supply has diminished.

Other than that bit of hope I don't know how you'd get rid of them. Loud bangs will only work for a short time until they get used to the noise.

EJP · Senior Member

Maybe Mike, you could move. Afterall it is their trees. But they will most probably follow you though. ****atoos etc are nice but after sort time they can be bloody annoying.

86GTS · Guru

You could try repeatedly playing the call of a Peregrine Falcon screeching thru a blue tooth speaker connected to your mobile.
You can use Google to get the call, there are lots of sources.
Peregrines are every birds worst nightmare, being the fastest bird in the world & a fearless predator.
Our large local shopping centre had lots of Seagulls scavenging around the carpark, sh*tting on cars.
They played the Peregrine call for a few weeks & not a Seagull in sight now for years.
All clear. biggrin

Wanda · Guru

Having trouble getting my head around this one, confuse

So, YOU move into, THEIR enviroment, and YOU, expect them to move on whilst your there? disbelief

Mike, if its such a big inconvenience with the noise, just move, its THEIR enviroment, you don't live there!!

Ian

aldinga · Member

Hi...Years ago the manager of Rutherglen Park would walk around the park daily with a stock whip . It woul

aldinga · Member

IT WOULD MOVE THEM ON . THEY WOULD RETURN THE NEXT DAY AND OUT CAME THE STOCK WHIP AGAIN....IT WAS REALLY EFFECTIVE

Craig1 · Guru

Be careful with the whip if you are an amatuer though, could be earless

KevinJ · Senior Member

Just make a potato gun.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykF3TUTI2hU

You can make a slightly simpler version than this one and you can shoot lemons, oranges, madarins etc. You put them in the combustion chamber rather than the barrel. They need to be just slightly bigger in diameter than the barrel to work and you push them hard up against the barrel from the combustion chamber side.

Wannabe nomad · Senior Member

I'm not necessarily advocating moving birds on when you are in their own environment and I don't know if this will work with ****atoos. But this is how I got rid of the 'little corellas' at my place on the river (it's my home so I can't move).
I Learned that before they settle somewhere they send out scout birds to check out the area. So the moment I hear one or two arrive I sneak out, with my black jacket over my head, with my arms up high under it, and without making any noise I walk down to where they are, keeping my head hidden, I walk up and down making swooping movements (like I'm a black kite) and they fly off. I did this for about a week and they stopped coming.
I only hope it works next season, and that anyone watching doesn't think I've lost my marbles

Corndoggy · Senior Member

Get yourself an air horn. Make more noise than they do. Maybe they will get pissed off with that goon down there on the ground and move off.

Ivan 01 · Guru

Mike, a spud gun is not a bad idea but if you arent aware it is an offence to have one in most states,

I have not seen it but I have heard of some people *wadding* some shot between two smaller pieces of potato to deter birds.
This may not suit if you find cokcatoos tough to eat.

Wadding would want to be good if you made it out of PVC instead of metal pipe.

Exhaust pipe is good but I am providing too much info biggrin biggrin

So do it quietly and conceal it from others.

On a side note I saw a guy fire a potato into an internal door and it punched a huge hole through the thin ply. They can be a weapon.

-- Edited by Ivan 01 on Tuesday 21st of June 2022 07:56:09 PM

dorian · Guru

My parents had a beautiful, tall pecan nut tree. However, they were almost never able to harvest the nuts before the ****atoos got to them. The same thing happened with their sunflower seeds.

In the end my parents gave up on the sunflowers, and my father cut down the tree out of spite.

oldbloke · Guru

KevinJ wrote:
Just make a potato gun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykF3TUTI2hU
You can make a slightly simpler version than this one and you can shoot lemons, oranges, madarins etc. You put them in the combustion chamber rather than the barrel. They need to be just slightly bigger in diameter than the barrel to work and you push them hard up against the barrel from the combustion chamber side.

+1

peter67 · Guru

Light an oxy gas torch and stub the flame out quickly then insert nozzle into a party balloon and inflate to a good size. tie the top off and tape a paper wick to it, light and run.

diggerop · Senior Member

I have a number of pecan trees which the ****ies love. Scary bird kites work. RC planes and drones work

Buzz Lightbulb · Guru

You could try a robot falcon like in this story:

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2322830-robotic-peregrine-falcon-can-scare-birds-away-from-crop-fields/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=currents

Are We Lost · Guru

Actually, I think the drone idea has a lot of merit. Send it up for a quick flight and they will fly away. No doubt they will return, but if the drone makes an appearance every time, they will learn it is not a relaxing place to be. The question is who will tire of this first .... bird or man?

markmack · Veteran Member

You are the one who has moved into their territory and you complain about a bit of bird crap on your solar panels.. Shame on you.. You would have disrupted them with your noisy motorcar.. And a short time after arrival set fire to their backyard.. Go and camp on the side of the highway.. You sound as if you have to live there ? Maybe it's time for you to head back to suburbia for a while as you seem to have forgotten what it's all about , Being out there ! The sight of you running around flapping your arms and screaming would be something they will never unsee. And that is worth sending a drone up for !

Corndoggy · Senior Member

Take it one more step.

The sight of you running around flapping your arms and screaming would be something they will never unsee.

And do it naked.

Now that cannot be unseen. Can't even unimagined it.

dogbox · Guru

you could put the cat amongst the "pigeons" an get serious an chop the trees down ! the birds might have the last laugh if a tree landed on the caravan

Plain Truth · Guru

Mike, you can never get rid of Pests

Ivan 01 · Guru

Mike,

Dont ever hit a flock of pink galahs when driving, particularly if they are in a designated animal crossing.

Wanda · Guru

Plain Truth wrote:
Mike, you can never get rid of Pests

GEE, ya got that right

Ian wink wink

Wanda · Guru

markmack wrote:
You are the one who has moved into their territory and you complain about a bit of bird crap on your solar panels.. Shame on you.. You would have disrupted them with your noisy motorcar.. And a short time after arrival set fire to their backyard.. Go and camp on the side of the highway.. You sound as if you have to live there ? Maybe it's time for you to head back to suburbia for a while as you seem to have forgotten what it's all about , Being out there ! The sight of you running around flapping your arms and screaming would be something they will never unsee. And that is worth sending a drone up for !

Yep, you certainly got that right, its he that should be moved on !

Ian