Diet bird food?

Seriously, I don't know. We are nearly overrun with birds where I live; finches, wrens, cardinals, bluejays, etc. We have multiple feeders & birdbaths throughout our yard, but I've never had the problem of them breaking off stems.

I think your roses are probably much higher & larger, and perhaps your birdies are a little heavier? lol.....But in all honesty, are you surrounded by tall trees? We are, and that may be the difference. I usually notice our bird population perching on fenceposts, branches of trees, and the eaves or gutters of structures.

They do look pretty chubby ;o)

We are surrounded by tall trees and there is a tall fence, most of the damage is done to the roses between the feeder and the fountain. I think they like to perch on the roses because they are about the same height as the fountain and they are closer than the fence or trees.

We're in different zones...but the birds like to sit on the fruit trees, butterfly bushes, lilacs, spirea, but mostly...on the arches and arbors. Even the hummingbirds will sit on the arches, because the metal is thin enough, for their little feet :)
{{gwi:247920}}From Lavender's Garden

Close up, of arch with honeysuckle growing on it...this is one of the hummingbirds' favorites! {{gwi:247924}}From Lavender's Garden

This time of year the new growth is very tender and soft. It will harden up soon, and "bird perching" will no longer be a problem. I would not worry about it - the roses will just make more new growth if there is really any damage. If you want to protect your roses from everything in the environment, you need to grow them only in greenhouses!

Jackie

Hoovb,
That makes total sense. Our birdbaths are located in right under a tall tree, next to a fence and a shed. I have seen many times exactly what you describe. They ladder-down from the tree, to the shed, to the fence, and eventually the birdbath. AHA!

I try to grow some roses just for roses to perch in as they make their way from the trees to my yard. Darlow's Enigma is one. Ann in Tn once recommended Redoute's Red Noisette for this also. Really nice description, hoovb.

Chicken McNuggets?! Laughing my head off! Love it, very funny.

I like to put a small handful of seeds out on low clay saucers set on round clay pipes for the towhees. I don't do it all the time, cause I like the busy bug hunters. But they do enjoy a handful of seeds every now and then.

Ours are very used to us working in the garden next to them and it is not uncommon to find them just a couple of bushes away busy kicking

I love having birds perching in the roses! Many of them "pay" their way by eating insects, and that's a pretty fair deal, from my point of view.

Jeri

I like to use pretty broadleaf evergreens as small 'specimen trees' in situations like you describe. I like having the evergreens in the winter, too.

I use osmanthus pretty freely, and a kind of cherry laurel that doesn't take over. I have a bunch of tall nandina that is very old and takes full sun -- that's the birds' favorite! Those berries must be tasty.

Wax murtle is also very pretty here and doesn't get out of hand (I do prune it). The birds do like those berries later in the winter.

Some of these might not be good suggestions in different soils, etc. Check with local gardeners to make sure you aren't picking something whose roots will overwhelm the roses! Native cherry laurel goes a bit crazy here, for instance, and wax murtle can sucker terribly in some situations.

I love the birds too. I have a climbing Old Blush that is up and over the garage door now...never has less than 6 or 7 nests in it. I enjoy the songs when I am outside.

Thanks everyone!

Hoovb: I've noticed that behavior, but that's the first and best explanation I've heard for it.

I think an arbor, some trellises, and a few Nandina and Osmanthus plants should do the trick. The perching wouldn't bother me if the birds didn't do so much damage, but last year I lost most of the blooms on the roses between the feeder and the fountain. I just want to provide something more suitable for the birdies to perch on.

Peachy, I'm wondering, though.
BIRDS have never cost us blooms, but OTHER things have, and do. Squirrels will eat rose buds (and follow up by eating the plants to the ground). So will cutie little cottontail bunnyrabbits. Rats might.

The worst rose bud predator in my garden is my youngest Dalmatian, Katie. She has favorites, and if they're down near the ground in a pot, she will eat every bud and bloom.

Fortunately, most of the roses are inaccessible to her, because they're tall enough to fend for themselves -- and she DOES have favorites.

I'm just thinking, unless you have really big, clunky, clumsy birds (like those huge ravens), I think the culprits may be something else.

Jeri

I've solved the problem by having my feeders and bird bath away from the roses. There are trees and evergreen shrubs in the immediate area. I've seen hawks sitting in the trees watching but the birds make good use of the shrubs when the hawks are around. From my window I've seen many a hawk fly away empty footed due to getting tangled up in the evergreens when trying to get a McNugget. The birds help keep the insects at bay so I supply plenty of cover for them.

I have a courtyard garden so there is limited space to move things around, I moved the taller roses to a safer spot and provided more perching material between the feeder and fountain and that has helped.

So far the only bud I've lost this year was the tallest one on my Dream Come True rose, it was about 6' high and it was the only damage done to the whole plant so I'm pretty sure that the culprit had wings. I've never seen a hawk visiting my garden, but there is a bluejay who likes to swoop in and frighten away all the smaller birds. I'm thinking that most of the breakage occurs when they are taking off to get away from the bluejay, or possibly it's the bluejay but I've never seen it perch on the roses and I have witnessed the smaller birds doing it frequently.

My dog Lola is a boxer-lab mix and she hasn't shown much interest in plants, she only cares about digging for gophers and eating anything gross she can find. I haven't been able to use manure in my garden for years. On the other hand she keeps the squirrels and other critters away during the daylight hours, at night the neighborhood cats and owl take over.
{{gwi:247926}}

Thanks for your interest and help!

I have bird feeders, bird houses and bird baths all around my yard and roses and I've never had a bird break anything. You must have whopping big birds! Have you tried some bird netting over them? You would probably only need to use it while the growth is very tender.