Hi all,
We lost virtually all of our small crop this year to birds - red
parrots. They seemed to be feeding on the grass seed within the grove
and then made their way into the trees. This would have been our first
harvest and although the fruit was minimal I was expecting to get
something out of our 1100 trees. Has anyone had a similar problem and
are there any suggestions to prevent this next year. Our trees will be 5
years old next year so I'm hoping for a reasonable harvest.
Any advice appreciated.
Regards
Paul

Paul Moran <paulmm@i...> wrote:
> Hi all,
> We lost virtually all of our small crop this year to birds - red
> parrots. They seemed to be feeding on the grass seed within the grove
> and then made their way into the trees. This would have been our first
> harvest and although the fruit was minimal I was expecting to get
> something out of our 1100 trees. Has anyone had a similar problem and
> are there any suggestions to prevent this next year. Our trees will be 5
> years old next year so I'm hoping for a reasonable harvest.
> Any advice appreciated.
> Regards
> Paul
>

Paul,
Many growers in this area (Tamworth) have reported the same phenomenon
this year. I suspect that it may be due to the difficult climatic
conditions, giving rise to the birds seeking food where they would
normally not. If the "normal" food supply is low, you gotta eat something!

Hope the next season is something like normal, so theycan find their
food elsewhere! You could always invest in a bird scarer (a carbide
gun or a "real" gun if that suits) to keep them away. ;^)

Cheers
John Attwood
Tamworth NSW Au

Hi all,
> We lost virtually all of our small crop this year to birds - red
> parrots. They seemed to be feeding on the grass seed within the grove
> and then made their way into the trees. This would have been our first
> harvest and although the fruit was minimal I was expecting to get
> something out of our 1100 trees. Has anyone had a similar problem and
> are there any suggestions to prevent this next year. Our trees will be 5
> years old next year so I'm hoping for a reasonable harvest.
> Any advice appreciated.
> Regards
> Paul

Yes, I lost the entire crop off 150 trees at Dungog to birds. I didn't see
it happen but the evidence points to parrots of some sort. I'm also open to
suggestions, especially as just about all the local birds are protected so
the "lead spray" wouldn't be a particularly good idea.

Mike Wilson
Hunter Valley, NSW.

Even here in Sydney, the King Parrots ate all of my olives this year! I
wasn't too upset because I didn't have enough to do anything with yet, and I
did get a good photograph of one caught in the act.
Margaret Chidgey
Editor, The Olive Press
24 Carcoola Crescent
Normanhurst, NSW 2076 Australia
phone: 02 9489 3663
fax: 02 9475 0759
email: olivepress@...
www.australianolives.com.au

I saw an advertisement some years ago for controlling birds. It was a shiny
silver disc of some description that is placed on the ground and it
reportedly disorientates the birds. You would need multiple of these in a
grove. I think it may have been in one of the Olive Grower Magazines.

A long term suggestion is to grow native trees/shrubs that will attract
predatory birds to ward off the parrots.

Marie Johnson
Hickory's Run Olive Grove
Stone Hut
South Australia

Paul,
I don't have a problem with parrots in my olive trees but have had great
success in keeping them off my roses using old CDs hanging from the bushes.

I use a piece of flexible "spaghetti" plastic tie about 20cm long attached
to the branch with the CD tied on at the end. It swings around in the
breeze and the resulting reflections which bounce all around the surrounding
area seem to keep the birds away. The metallic coating lasts a couple of
years so it's worth the initial effort of attaching them.
Good luck!

Regards,
Julie Lloyd

I sympathise with your parrot problem. We lost nearly all our crop (again, a young grove, so we didn't expect much) to Ring neck parrots. We have large areas of National Park nearby, and it isn't uncommon to see flocks of 20 or 30 parrots swooping in and out of the trees. Their usual food source was depleted this year, but now they have discovered olives I'm sure they'll keep eating them. They first attack the fruit in January, when the pit is hardening - just slice them in half and take out the pit, then later nibble on them constantly, as they ripen. I have placed a parrot trap in our grove. It functions like a lobster pot ( they can get in but can't get out), baited with a handful of wheat, and is the size of the back of a ute. You can stand up in it. I have a licence from the State Department of Conservation and Land Management to use this trap, and there are strict rules about its operation and reporting. I have been assured shooting is more effective, but I don't shoot, and in any case the neighbours would complain. I have disposed of over thirty parrots in about a month. The man who built the trap assures me I will see the benefits in a couple of years, but you have to keep it going constantly. I hate killing these beautiful birds, but it is war. Regards, Judith Williams

Hello Paul,

I'm no expert, don't own a grove or process olive oil, my plants on my balcony barely survive-but if you don't mind some advice that almost sounds silly at first.

My in-laws have some olive trees & fruit trees on their property (small lot-primarily enough for family, friends). Couple years ago they had problems with birds eating the fruit of the fruit trees, especially my fave-figs!

They tried an idea I read in HGTV forum, hang CD's on the trees. They laughed at the idea at first, but it worked, it saved our figs. Now they are hanging CD's on all the trees. Something about the reflectiion in the light keeps them away. Best to get the cheap silvery CD's, color ones don't reflect as well.

Another idea-is do you have a small corner of your lot - some distance from your trees, that maybe you can create a little haven for the birds? Have some bird feeders? bird bath, maybe the grass seed they seem to like? Maybe this little haven MAY help distract them from your olive trees?

As for the CD's, try hanging some low (for those reaching up after the grass seed) as well as some high up.

If it helps, I've also heard using Pinwheels (yes the type kids like) placing them on the ground helps keep some of the other critters away.

Whichever method you try, Good luck!