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Fruit & Orchards

birds eating buds...!

10 years ago

Had a mild winter here & early spring. All fruit trees blossoming & apricots & plums setting teeny fruit... but the darn birds are again eating these developing fruits!!
So if we don't still get a killing frost, the darn birds will have destroyed what might have been a super great fruit year. I did put netting over as much of the trees as possible & last night to freeze (didn't!) so put blankets over as much as I could reach. Any one had success with misting hoses turned on over the trees at frost night? Guess they do it in the citrus groves in Florida?

We've also tried smudge pots ... going out in wee hours to light them & hope the neighbors don't call the police thinking we are thieves or ...?!

Plenty of fresh greens out already & I even put out seed for the birds but they still prefer the little developing fruits XX00x !!

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Comments (4)

fabaceae_native
10 years ago
What kind of birds are these exactly? Very few birds will actually eat any unripened plant parts... how many birds do you know of that browse on leaves and branches for example? I think it is more likely that what you are seeing is the first migratory warblers and other species gleaning tiny insects from your trees.

If you observe very closely, I am quite sure that you will find the birds to be eating something other than the tiny fruits on your trees. Then it's just about crossing the fingers for two more mild months to come before any danger of frost is past!

Good luck!
vieja_gw
Original Author
10 years ago
Same thing happened last spring & I remember another 'poster saying the same thing... the birds eating the tiny buds! Each bud eaten/gone & left the small stem on the branches.. both flower & tine new fruit done the same way!!
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fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
10 years ago
House finch have done that to me. Mostly in winter in Amarillo with heavy snow cover. My buddy here in west Texas says something is eating his right now. I'm not sure if it's House Finch. He says sparrows but I'm not sure he knows the difference. Netting is the only way I'd know to deter them.
vieja_gw
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks fruitnut! I remembered last year someone else had mentioned birds eating the flowers & tiny fruits! I can not tell if they are sparrows or other birds. Hopefully the netting will save some of the fruit!
The birds are sure adaptive so anything can be happening!

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