s@@t birds: the good, the bad, the ugly

[Ray Dunakin]

With the rocky terrain and minimal plants of my layout, it looks like my biggest wildlife problem will be spider webs. A quick blast with the hose takes care of webs strung between rocks, trestles etc. I'll have to build a tunnel clearing car to run through the tunnels before each session, once the layout is complete.

Of course I have lots of lizards on the layout too, but don't expect them to be much of a problem. In fact they're fun to have around. I've got them trained to come up and eat mealworms from my hand. Sometimes they run right up to me as soon as they see me, expecting a handout! They're Western Fence lizards, aka "blue bellies".

BTW, they are very hardy little critters! One female that's been living in my cactus garden for the past 3-4 years was chewed up pretty badly about 3 months ago by some predator. In addition to losing her tail, her left rear foot was mangled and the skin was torn off her leg from the knee down. I though for sure such a serious leg injury would do her in, but it didn't. The lower leg withered away, and now she has a stump at the knee. She scoots around pretty well despite being hobbled.

Occasionally I'll see an alligator lizard in the yard during the day, but they mostly stay out of sight and in hot weather can even be nocturnal. We've got one in the front yard that comes out onto the patio at night every now and then, and he too will eat from my hand.

Oh, and when the grandkids were here last month, I spotted a king snake heading into the road not far from here. It's a busy four lane road so I pulled over and rescued him before he could get run over. Showed him to the girls, and then released him in the canyon. He was a beautiful snake, and very gentle. Didn't seem to mind being handled at all.

[Pagardener]

I found Liquid Fence deters most roaming wildlife including deer (and I live in the middle of a woods). I have had no critter problems in my GRR..just spiders spinning their webs between my buildings :)..I clean off the webs..but don't kill them as they keep bugs out of my gardens. The canopy of tree leaves aboe my layout is so dense that bird droppings on my track are rare..I only get them on my one deck and my car since they are in relatively open spaces.:)
Barbara

[kstrong]

René, I'll be more than happy to harvest some for you. The way my cats shed, I could protect an entire neighborhood.

Later,

K

[Rene Schweitzer]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ttrigg

A few hints:

2 - Rabbits, squirrels, and other grazing varmints. Visit your local barber shop, collect up a couple bags of the days clippings, spread around your property line, repeat every other week.

Tom,
this is a great idea! I will sometimes use the cat hair I collect from brushing, but there's not enough of it to spread around (probably a good thing).

[Rene Schweitzer]

QUOTE: Originally posted by BennysRR

David
the Chipmunks are trying to take over my G R R .,They are coming from a woods about a 1/4 mile from me , I have caught my 7th. one in 2 weeks today in a small trap , than i take them about 5 miles down the road to a new home in a bigger woods .the little xxx[censored] things want to dig holes and chew through the pond liner. ben

Ben,
I too have been live trapping chipmunks. I caught #10 yesterday and re-homed him in a large park with woods. I've read that they can cause serious structural damage to foundations. [:0]

Rene

[ttrigg]

A few hints:

1 - If you are having problems with birds getting to you fish. Home Depot carries a very thin black plastic netting for use over the fruit trees, make some "gardening staples" (8 inch long wire folded in half) and spread it tight across the pond. Keeps fish in and birds out.

2 - Rabbits, squirrels, and other grazing varmints. Visit your local barber shop, collect up a couple bags of the days clippings, spread around your property line, repeat every other week.

[BudSteinhoff]

You want to see bird droppings big time, I have 17 Peacocks living around my railway.
Always walk the track before running the track cleaner or it gets smeared all around it.
Bud[8D]

[Anonymous]

hi there , if you are having bird problems with your pond , try a plastic heron these tend to keep other birds away, they are also available as an owl there is a link to website here
https://www.amazinganimal.co.uk/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=heron

regards Neil

[Anonymous]

David
the Chipmunks are trying to take over my G R R .,They are coming from a woods about a 1/4 mile from me , I have caught my 9th. one in 2 weeks today in a small trap , than i take them about 5 miles down the road to a new home in a bigger woods .the little xxx[censored] things want to dig holes and chew through the pond liner. ben

[AtlasGP9]

Someone once said that the best deer deterrent was a .457 and a freezer. --Tom sounds like he might espouse that philosophy.

I like watching them flit around, and they are cleaning up a lot of the insects. I just wished they could be "yard-trained" and do their dumps in someone else's yard.
I guess it's a matter of balance.

[ttrigg]

You know there is a thing called a .22 cal. shotshell! It will convert your .22 cal. revolver into a nice quite shotgun.

[tangerine-jack]

I have 5 cats. No bird problems to report. Or mice.

[Anonymous]

Maybe you need to introduce a Catzilla to the neighborhood!

[AtlasGP9]

I was thinking about that today, as I cleaned some of the aforementioned off the rails.
A couple of years ago, I really didn't have this problem. But It seems that it means that fewer people are using pesticides, or something like that. The birds are actually finding this a living environment again. Yes, I'd prefer robins to starlings, but the garden is alive.
I've watched several sets of parents build nests and feed those squawking, gaping yellow beaks. It's anything but Rachel Carson's "silent Spring."

[FJ and G]

About 80-86.55% of the time I go outside (with the hound) to the garden RR, I notice a bird splashing in my pond or perched atop my girder bridge taking a dump.

I really love birds so this is nice.

But sometimes, there is bird s@@t on the trestle.

So, I hose it off; no big deal.

The seeds in the bird stuff that they carry from near and far, has actually introduced some pretty cool plants into the garden such as daisies and other plants which I still need to identify.

The songs of the bird too really add to the dynamics.

Even with the minor inconveniences, I'm overall happy with the birds.

When I introduce goldfi***o the mini-pond, I won't even mind an egret or 2 eating the goldfish; after all, the goldies are about a dime a dozen.