It’s that time of year again when the local spur winged plovers like to nest and lay eggs in my neighborhood. The first time they made a nest here it was in a vacant block next door and that was cute. I adopted the male as My New Guard Bird and when they hatched there had been no dramas because there was always enough space between us. Last year the block next door was a build site and so they came Back for Another Lay in my backyard and that was SUPER annoying because they get very aggressive when you go near their nests and I didn’t want to kill them.
After a month of not mowing or going out the back they Finally Hatched. By then I had resolved not to let them lay near my property again, so when they started lurking on my front yard and squawking at me territorially when I got home at night for the last couple of weeks I knew what was up…
At first I thought I could scare them off on my own. I’d come home at night after poker and then chase them down the street waving a rake or a broom (whatever was handy) at them and they would screech bloody murder as they flew off. I might have woken a few people up and I must have looked like a total lunatic to my neighbours but I don’t care too much about that. The problem was that they’d just keep coming back. Stupid birds couldn’t take the hint that this wasn’t going to be a safe space for them!
So I did a bit of research and came across these Scare Owls that are supposed to ward off nesting birds. They cost about $11 at Bunnings so I thought I’d give one a try. I brought this one home, filled it with sand so it won’t blow over and then tried it out in a few spots on my front lawn. He looks kind of cool and does fit the vibe of our place, but to be honest I’m not sure if it’s worked. The spurs have been back once or twice but I’m not having to chase them off every night so maybe its having some effect.
I really don’t want to have to squash the spurs nest but I absolutely will kill them if they lay here again. I’ve put that malevolence out in the universe so hopefully these dumb birds will wise up because I’m done being Mr Nice Guy. We are pretty rural here so there are heaps of other places for them to make a nest. Hopefully they will find a new spot this year.
