Owl deterrent ?

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zekeandbelle
Posts: 36
Joined: Sun May 15, 2016 9:47 am
Location: michigan

So the Great horn was back again last night and I scared it off with the cowbell and then the neighbors complained about my radio playing so I had to turn it off… Does anyone know if I can use the reflective tape on the houses or the short bird spikes on the top of houses to keep the Owl from perching there? Or can I put out our fake owl decoy out to scare it off? I don't know if it will scare the martins away too but maybe that would be for the best.
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Robbo
Posts: 624
Joined: Tue Jun 09, 2009 2:53 pm
Location: Leduc, Alberta, Canada.

You need more Cowbell! :lol:
2009. 98 eggs, 66 hatch, 61 fledged.
2010. 114 eggs, 89 hatch,70 fledged.
2011. 96 eggs. 80 hatch,68 fledged.Heavy Merlin preditation.
2012. 89 eggs. 56 hatch, good fledge. Guards installed. Merlin not sighted at houses.
2013. First Egg May 24, first Baby June 13.
2014. successful.
2015. successful.
2016. Martin's population decline, suspect new housing in the neighborhood. Merlin eating well also!
2017.Population explosion :grin: . first egg May 25 in a BO-11
2018. Population stable.
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AkitaSan
Posts: 20
Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2012 10:10 am
Location: Michigan, Southeast

Jan, try the owl decoys. My nearby neighbors have them sitting on their docks in order to keep the ducks off. They are very close to us and don't bother the Martins at all. In fact, I believe they just may deter the infamous hawk as well.
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Matt F.
Posts: 3978
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 9:48 am
Location: Houston, TX

Robbo wrote:You need more Cowbell! :lol:
That's the first thing I thought of as well!
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Matt F.
Posts: 3978
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 9:48 am
Location: Houston, TX

zekeandbelle wrote:So the Great horn was back again last night and I scared it off with the cowbell and then the neighbors complained about my radio playing so I had to turn it off… Does anyone know if I can use the reflective tape on the houses or the short bird spikes on the top of houses to keep the Owl from perching there? Or can I put out our fake owl decoy out to scare it off? I don't know if it will scare the martins away too but maybe that would be for the best.
Great job on scaring it off.
I know that's not easy being a nighttime sentinel, ready to spring into action.
Forum member Kathy F. had (or has - it may still be with her) a very persistent GHO.
She tried different tactics, and really studied the situation.
Here's one of her articles from her blog, where she shares a lot about her GHO experience, and defensive strategies.:
http://kathyfreeze.blogspot.com/2014/05 ... -thee.html
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Louise Chambers
Site Admin
Posts: 6208
Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2003 1:07 pm
Location: Corpus Christi, TX

Most bird deterrents (blinking lights, reflective tape, owl decoys) do little or nothing to stop predators like owls. Physical barriers are most effective - wire cages, deeper compartments, and baffled interiors. Tunnels on gourds don't stop owls either, prong type owl guards do help. Check out the blog posts from Kathy Freeze - well documented experiences that might help you.
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zekeandbelle
Posts: 36
Joined: Sun May 15, 2016 9:47 am
Location: michigan

THAnks and yes, I've read all of Kathy's horrific experiences...and we've built the cages and have enlarged compartments... i just talked to an owl rehab expert and she said to change visual environment every 5 or 6 days like hanging tape or hanging kites or even taping a stuffed animal to a stick and moving it around and she said buy the birds off stick up things and make the top of the house landing as uncomfortable as possible ...she was very helpful but I wanted to ask again if there were any other ideas
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