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nafex - Re: [NAFEX] Varmints and netting

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  • From: Ginda Fisher <list@ginda.us>
  • To: North American Fruit Explorers <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [NAFEX] Varmints and netting
  • Date: Sun, 25 Nov 2007 11:29:29 -0500

No doubt that's why they were snared. But I have seen juncos feeding on my red currants.

The low hardware-cloth fence around the blueberries has completely eliminated critter-death in my blueberry netting (even though I use the black monofilament stuff). An outdoor cat has eliminated the need to net the currants and raspberries, so long as I pick them fairly promptly. She kills some critters, but at least I don't have to disentangle the little corpses from my netting.

I'm intrigued by the white woven netting, however, which I hadn't seen before. I hate the black monofilament stuff. It's fragile, and it gets tangled in everything, such as my buttons and itself. Contrary to Alan's experience, most of the birds do seem to see it, however. Two years ago a bird watched me as I spread the netting over my just-about-ripe blueberry bed. As soon as I finished, the bird checked it out, hopping from post to post (I drape the netting over the same posts that the hardware cloth is attached to), looking carefully at the protected blueberries, and tweeting loudly at each stop. Perhaps it was my imagination, but he certainly sounded frustrated and angry with me. (I don't remember the species. It wasn't a junco, something more solitary and territorial that had been guarding the patch from its kin, I think.)

Ginda


On Nov 25, 2007, at 10:11 AM, Jim Fruth wrote:

Ginda,
Don't blame the Juncos. They are ground feeding seed eaters. Notice
how they scratch the ground, then peck at seeds (usually weed seeds) they
uncovered.
One year I thought it would be cute to have them eat at my (sunflower
seed) bird feeder. A flock of them had been feeding on the ground under it
for several days. So I set the feeder on the ground and, every day, I
adjusted it up a little higher. They seemed to be voracious eaters because
the feeder was emptied every day. By the time I got it to window level so I
could watch them, I was appalled over what I had done. The Juncos didn't
know how to open the sunflower seed shells so they scratched them overboard
looking for the shelled bits and the Chickadees were eating off the ground.
I was wondering how the cats could catch so many Chickadees.

Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN 56472
For jams, jellies & syrups:
www.bberryfarm.com
(877)265-6856 [Store]
(218)831-7018 [My Cell]

I think the squirrels and chipmunks do more damage overall than any birds,
but the birds I snared in netting over my blueberries and currants were
mostly juncos. Whether that's because they are the worst fruit- eaters or
just because they are dumb or have poor eyesight or are other wise prone to
snaring, I can't say.
___
Ginda

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