Hi all. I’m looking for insight/experiences with using loud bird calls as a
deterrent for nuisance birds.
Here’s the situation: I’m in West Seattle. My neighbors’ home has, in past
years, been seriously damaged by a male Northern flicker that drilled
through the eaves and yanked out huge wads of insulation.
Their response- guided by some pest control company- has been to mount
speakers on the front and back of their very tall home, and blast bird
calls nonstop, dawn to dusk. I don’t think they hear it in their house, but
it’s really obnoxious in my yard.
Merlin recognizes a couple of calls - sharp-shinned hawk, bald eagle - but
most of it is avian gibberish, including one screeching sequence that
sounds like a gull being dismembered.
Most of the backyard birds seem unaffected, but I haven’t seen a towhee
since the racket started early this spring.
What are folks’ thoughts? Does this work? ( I haven’t seen a Northern
flicker recently, so maybe it does?) Does it negatively impact other
species?
Thanks for any insights you can offer.
