Mike (and anyone else if interested) I may have forgotten to mention that
any highly repetitive sound will condition the birds and lose effectiveness
over time. Random or pseudo random sequencing is best. I was at a Lowes
store today and went to an outside storage area where plastic pipe is cached
looking for good but inexpensive ways to bury wires to towers. I commented
on the sounds played repetitively enquiring if it was an anti bird system.
Yes it was and no it didn't work as there was still lots of birds in the
area and lots of droppings in evidence. I have used a couple ultrasonic
systems and the one with the best performance had a randomly emitted yelper
siren sound but ultrasonic. There was a choice of ultra-sonic bands, one
spared dogs and cats.
I retired from a Navy operated lab in San Diego. We had an off shore
oceanographic research platform off the coast of Mission Beach. It was
plagued with sea gulls and their leavings, food scraps and "processed food."
Recordings of sea gulls in distress were made and played back at high
volume. Worked fine for a while but the birds got used to it. Went to
pseudo random playback timing and got better results.
There are anti bird devices used atop billboards to shoo away birds. They
work well and could be adapted/adopted for use on towers. Basically they
look like small rotating dipoles in constant motion (intermittent would work
and conserve electricity.) (Oh, I once had a job as Energy Conservation
Officer of SUBASE San Diego.) Anyway they were aluminum tubes rotated at
there center point in a horizontal plane close to the top of the billboards
and physically prevented the birds from perching. Substituting say a
fiberglass wand in place of the aluminum tubing would avoid detuning
problems with the antenna and placing the little motor remote to the antenna
with a non conducting (Fiberglass again?) vertical drive shaft and voila, no
perching birds.
Now then as regards my previous advocacy of the use of Tanglefoot or
equivalent: I never suggested putting it on the tower, just the antenna
(large perching birds can damage the aluminum tubes in addition to making a
mess with food scraps and "processed food.) However, in the case of a
crank-up tower that isn't going to be climbed (think extension ladder)
Tanglefoot would encourage the birds to go elsewhere. They hate it.
Shooting birds? Raptors are protected, Federally. This includes sea
eagles, AKA Osprey, Bald Eagles, Owls... even buzzards. You can't stand
guard duty 24-7 so shooting would not be a good plan even if it were legal.
At the price of ammunition these days a couple F/G wands and a small gear
motor would be cheaper in the long run. An old micro-wave oven with
rotating platform inside is a good source of a motor geared down to a good
speed. Need I provide step by step instructions in one syllable words?
-----Original Message-----
From: Trond Thorman
Sent: Wednesday, November 20, 2013 8:16 AM
To: Mike Ryan ; Tower Talk
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] Ridding Birds from the Tower
Hi Mike,
We have installed for a client of ours a modified ultrasonic based system of
Wailer. Their website as follows: http://www.scaringbirds.com/index.html
The system was installed on a 68m off-shore tower in Liverpool bay/UK. The
menace is large flocks of cormorant. They do exactly as you said, do their
fishing and bring the food back to the tower site and eat it.
The mess, both from avian deposits (read puh..) mixed with food left overs
is disgusting. Prior to any service on the structure, we high pressure clean
the platform dressed up as we are about to visit the reactors of Fukoshima.
I don't know the successes of the Wailer system (Sorry). Emitters where
installed at 4 levels.
73 de G0TRD
Trond
-----Original Message-----
From: TowerTalk [mailto:towertalk-bounces@contesting.com] On Behalf Of Mike
Ryan
Sent: 20 November 2013 13:39
To: Tower Talk
Subject: [TowerTalk] Ridding Birds from the Tower
Ultra sonic projectors or yelpers of one kind or another have been mentioned
for ridding birds from towers. I have looked on-line and see a myriad of
these things. I would like to buy one. Did I also read that the sound is
inaudible to humans? That ALSO is what I need as it would have to be used
at night many times. If anyone has any direct or first hand knowledge of
one of these please get back to me off the reflector with the info. My
problem is with the osprey (sea birds) that like to roost on my tower day
and night while they survey the waters around here for prey which they brink
back to the top of the tower to eat. They make and leave a huge mess every
day. You can't shoot them as some might suggest, nor would I or could I as I
am in a residential neighborhood ... with bird lovers galore. I just want
them on someone else's home/tree/roof/tower anywhere else but here. - Mike
-----Original Message-----
From: Patrick Greenlee
Sent: Thursday, November 14, 2013 8:30 AM
To: Mike Fahmie ; Richard Solomon ; Tower Talk
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] TowerTalk Digest, Vol 131, Issue 35
Mike, Different freqs for different varmints. I like the the ultrasonic
yelper function on my repellers that comes on and off in a pseudo random
manner. Birds don't like it. They will get used to nearly anything that is
relatively constant. Tangle foot is a good thing too.
Patrick AF5CK
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Fahmie
Sent: Wednesday, November 13, 2013 12:55 PM
To: Richard Solomon ; Tower Talk
Subject: Re: [TowerTalk] TowerTalk Digest, Vol 131, Issue 35
I'm wondering if the supersonic squawker devices that are purported to repel
4 legged vermin might work for birds too.
-mike-
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