The birds have discovered the wine grapes. Every time I walked under the arbor a little flurry of rising wings could be heard. The pea hens are residing in the peacock penthouse because last year they ate a third of my crop and now the sparrows are taking advantage. Serious measures had to be taken.
So I have brought in reinforcements.
Sundog uses these stern fellows to keep the birds off her blackberries. TonTon actually growled at them.
After the dogs had given them warnings about farmy behaviour, I filled the Glaring Owls bellies with dirt and sat them on the poles that support the grape vines.
The change was instant. The sparrows, steered clear and the starlings gave them a wide birth. Immediately. Frankly I would too. These guys are not mucking around.
The instructions say: Only put the owls out when it is time to scare away the birds and move them frequently so the grape thieves do not get used to them. After the harvest put them back in the box ’til next year. They are 18 inches (48cm) high and look stunning out in the gardens.
Impressive aren’t they. Their heads bob about in the slight breeze, turning on their shoulders like feathered brooding back up singers borrowed from the Exorcist’s Green Room.
Good morning. How are you all this morning? The sun has not yet risen into my hazy cloudy sky. Another glorious hot day is forecast. Of course now that the hay is cut, the best hay, threats of showers and thunderstorms have crept into the forecast. Friday and Saturday will be dicey. So the tension has been cranked up a level.
I hope you all have a lovely day.
your friend on the farm, celi
The Kitchen's Garden 
65 responses to “The Bobble Headed Owls have come. Be afraid. Be very afraid!”
Excellent plan 😉
Love the owls:)
Hazy here too….ever so slightly cooler. Love those pups checking out the owls!
Those owls are BEAUTIFUL! I love them. They look quite magisterial atop their poles. The dogs’ expressions are priceless. God lov’em.
Those owls are perfect!!!! I have never seen them with bobble heads but that would make the difference along with moving them around a bit. Hope they continue to do the trick for you!!!
Too funny! I just popped in to see what Little Sundog was up to, and her last post was about these bobble heads. Then I came here and lo and behold: More Bobble Heads! So now I see bobble heads in my future gardening plans.
BTW, isn’t if funny how suspicious our canines can get over the simplest things? Around here it was my dolls! Buddy used to go bonkers every time I moved one to a new location. 😉
The moment i saw Sundogs owls i knew it was the answer. Love them! Fancy your dog barking at a DOLL! c
Well, to be fair… the doll was 3 feet tall!!! 😉
Laugh, THREE feet, i would be hard put not to bark at it myself!! c
Funny! I showed Robert and we laughed. Poor Ton and Boo. Love those owls though, we’ve never seen bobble-headed ones. 🙂
great owls! i like the idea of moving them around. teddy would have barked at them too. it is hot, humid and yucky here!
Oh, Lordy, C! Those photos of the dogs made my morning! I should get some owls for the blueberries for next year – the crows got lots of them this year. One of the apple orchards on the island has a tethered kite that looks like an eagle. It swoops and dives over the trees when the wind blows…I’ve seen people at their farm stand stop and take pictures of it, thinking it’s a real bird 😀
I thought of one of those kites too, we used to have them in NZ, but the owls add such character.. c
Oh I just adore your owls – how very clever!
Here’s hoping the rain stays away long enough for you to get the hay all sorted C.
Have a super day.
🙂 Mandy xo
Those owls might be just the thing for one or two of the classrooms I have been in.
Looks like the owls work for scaring canine also. The bobblehead aspect of their design seems the key in their success. Hope they work.
The Owls are great, I might be tempted to leave them out forever. Spring has arrived here at last the trees are budding – yippee. I think part of what makes the hay so good is the additional human adrenaline that gets added at harvest time 🙂 Hoping it stays dry till all the bales have ridden up Clatterbox. Laura
That pair would certainly scare the bejezus out of me close up! Obviously drastic measures need to be taken to protect your future wine!! Enjoy your hot and hazy day, it’s cool and mizzly here so, laundry done, rooms cleaned – a couple of hours of painting I think!
Christine
Love the reaction of the dogs. You captured them well. These decoys are pretty cool, too!