Turdstones!! Well thats we call them!

[rogerthebodger]

These are being used on buildings to keep birds away or similar ones with shiny metal the rotate

 

[mickywillis]

Back to the serious questionb posted by OP. The more you use your boat the less likely it will become a home for birds. Areal problem here in spring is gulls building nest in cockpit. But apart from that yes a real mess on cabin top and cockpit seats. Water will soften it after a while but a chisle is needed rfor the hard stuff. One really useful device I have found is an old flannel (face washer) witha hole in one corner and a long cord attached. I throw it overboard to wet it then scrub the mess. Throw it over board to rinse and do the same again. Justs one week from relaunch after winter at home and mess was horrible. Another week and another mess.
So it is all a question of priorities of your effort. If you can find the energy to string wires across over the deck (with old CDs even better) Mount a dummy owl or eagle or lay a rubber snake coiled these will/ may help. Some people have a huge rotating arm with wind cups which protect large flat areas.
Do not use a net. There is nothing so horrible as getting to your boat to find a half dead sea gull with foot trapped in net. Unless you go for very fine net strung very high so sides near vertical.
So it is all matter of setting up detraction after coming back from sailing. My problem is that at that stage all I want to do is get off the boat and go home. So for me I just clean the boat before sailing. (partially clean might be more correct) ol'will

 

[mickywillis]

At last, a sensible answer to my original question, thank you!

 

[mickywillis]

These are being used on buildings to keep birds away or similar ones with shiny metal the rotate

Have put something similar on boat at weekend, so will see if it has any affect.

 

[mickywillis]

I had the same problems in neighbouring Chichester Harbour. It seems to have become much worse in the last eight years or so. I tried many different remedies. Hum lines were very successful for a couple of years but then the birds seem to realise it wasn't an issue and returned. Strips of foil tape blowing in the breeze worked,but again only for a while.

Hanging black rubbish sacks strategically round the boat seemed the most effective. Large black object moving at random helped keep them off.

What annoyed me most was arriving at the boat to be greeted by hostile glares from the resident Turnstones, who would shuffle en mass round the other side, making it very Clear you were unwelcome and they had no intention of leaving!

Thank you, exactly what I experienced last weekend with the Turdstones!!

 

[Mister E]

I am wondering if the fake rubber snakes might put them off?

 

[thinwater]

I am wondering if the fake rubber snakes might put them off?

Eagles eat snakes.

Depends on the bird.

 

[Mister E]

Eagles eat snakes.

Depends on the bird.

Not many eagles near me.

 

[Snowgoose-1]

I had the same problems in neighbouring Chichester Harbour. It seems to have become much worse in the last eight years or so. I tried many different remedies. Hum lines were very successful for a couple of years but then the birds seem to realise it wasn't an issue and returned. Strips of foil tape blowing in the breeze worked,but again only for a while.

Hanging black rubbish sacks strategically round the boat seemed the most effective. Large black object moving at random helped keep them off.

What annoyed me most was arriving at the boat to be greeted by hostile glares from the resident Turnstones, who would shuffle en mass round the other side, making it very Clear you were unwelcome and they had no intention of leaving!

The Turnstones are certainly a fun bird. The name actually reflects what they do. You would have thought that their beaks would be a lot bigger/stronger.

Apologies. I am sympathetic to the nuisance they can sometimes cause.

 

[rogerthebodger]

I am wondering if the fake rubber snakes might put them off?

I was moored next to a sailor from Oz who had rubber snakes wound around his rigging, but the birds still deposited their load on his boat.

I was not sure if the African birds just did not recognize the Oz snakes.

To work I think the rubber snakes need to twitch or move to scare birds away hence flashing pyramids rotating cups or loosely strung CD's

 

[winch2]

Gave up trying to be clever ages ago. Ive had a mast to stern cover made up... semi sacrificial ie.. it gets mucky, I wash it off, saves all the poop getting on the cockpit teak and getting in the crevices. I look at it as a chore that comes with the boat.

 

[ashtead]

In certain marina they used to employ a bird of prey -I’ve not been into Langston but recall from visits to Chi this problem . I can only suggest moving to Gosport as we don’t have a serious problem . I have heard the plastic snake answer and have 2 on board but not certain they work. I wonder if a farmers bird scarrer might help? Speak to the marina and they can get details from Lym yacht haven which had bird issues as well I recall.

 

[Bristolfashion]

In certain marina they used to employ a bird of prey -I’ve not been into Langston but recall from visits to Chi this problem . I can only suggest moving to Gosport as we don’t have a serious problem . I have heard the plastic snake answer and have 2 on board but not certain they work. I wonder if a farmers bird scarrer might help? Speak to the marina and they can get details from Lym yacht haven which had bird issues as well I recall.

One is employed in Ocean Village, Southampton.

 

[rogerthebodger]

In certain marina they used to employ a bird of prey -I’ve not been into Langston but recall from visits to Chi this problem . I can only suggest moving to Gosport as we don’t have a serious problem . I have heard the plastic snake answer and have 2 on board but not certain they work. I wonder if a farmers bird scarrer might help? Speak to the marina and they can get details from Lym yacht haven which had bird issues as well I recall.

I was moored next to a sailor from Oz who had rubber snakes wound around his rigging, but the birds still deposited their load on his boat.

I was not sure if the African birds just did not recognize the Oz snakes.

To work I think the rubber snakes need to twitch or move to scare birds away hence flashing pyramids rotating cups or loosely strung CD's

Johannesburg used to use harks in the city center to chase, kill the pigeons away. Don't know how effective it was and if harks are still being used.

Plastic snakes are not effective at all as there is no movement for the birds to see and to be attracted to to react too

 

[mickywillis]

In certain marina they used to employ a bird of prey -I’ve not been into Langston but recall from visits to Chi this problem . I can only suggest moving to Gosport as we don’t have a serious problem . I have heard the plastic snake answer and have 2 on board but not certain they work. I wonder if a farmers bird scarrer might help? Speak to the marina and they can get details from Lym yacht haven which had bird issues as well I recall.

Thank you, but we are not in Southsea Marina, we are on a swinging mooring at Tudor SC, up near the north end of the harbour. Been a club member for 17 years and this year is the worst its been for ages, other club members agree and are suffering the same! Boats out of water in 2 weeks time, so the pressure washer is going to get some serious use!

 

[Daydream believer]

Down here people seem to hang old CD's out all over the place.
It seems to have a bit of an effect.

Worse still when stupid MOBO owners start playing them at midnight

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Bird flu, we had a large herring gull population around home. This has sharply declined in the last few years. They’re still a pain in the ass, but previously they were a literal plague. They mest on any horizontal surface, are extremely noisy at dawn and dusk, fiercely terrotorial even in the face of angry humans and the mess on cars, houses, people that stand up to them or even just stand still, well, I expect you all can guess. Only 2 nests last summer, we might have had a dozen or more visible to us previously.