The past few days I have had my hives attacked by a female cardinal. I tried putting chicken wire in front of my hives. She then just simply waits either on fence top or on the roof of the hives,then get the bees while in flight.Today I bought a fake Owl and put it on top of one of the hives. 2 hours went by so far. Cardinal only did a quick fly by. Any suggestions?
Birds attacking my Hives
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I just walked out to do just a visual check on the hives just to make sure everything looked okay and i was swarmed by a half dozen robins. Whats going on with these birds are they looney or what???..hahaha There was several robin that was flying right above my head, i have no idea what they was attempting to do or what their intentions was...I have no idea!! hahaha
I know you missed my prior post about the 3 "S's". Robins are probably migratory and probably federally protected, and I would never suggest that you break man's laws, oh NO, NOT ME.
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Well how many is a flock??..If a flock consists of 15+ birds then i have a flock...I guess im gonna have to go get me one of them hoot owls or a rubber snake...i bet they are used to the rubber snake trick by now. I guess im gonna have to think of something since i always obey the law!.... hahaha
Beerated let me know if you figure out a solution cause i have the same problem!!!
hahahaBeerated let me know if you figure out a solution cause i have the same problem!!!
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What is your rational for placing a higher "value" on a few bees versus a Cardinal? So what if the Cardinal is dining on some of your bees. (BTW, I doubt very much it's a Cardinal since they are seed eating birds.) Why are people so quick to resort to killing to "solve" a problem, Hambone? I guess beekeepers aren't much different than the other special interest groups. It's all about their own narrow interest. Do the math. You realize how many bees a bird would have to eat to make a significant impact on a Spring/Summer hive?
a problem, Hambone? I guess beekeepers aren't much different than the other special interest groups. It's all about their own narrow interest. Do the math. You realize how many bees a bird would have to eat to make a significant impact on a Spring/Summer hive?The owl will lose effectiveness quickly unless it's moved frequently. Keep in mind they're probably adding 1000+ workers/day and that bird is probably starving with the weather in the area lately, if you're having the cold spell we've been going through.
What did the robins do "wrong" exactly?
What did the robins do "wrong" exactly?
Well So far the Owl decoy is working and the bird is at least 15 feet away from the hive. If a bee happens to go off course near the bird,which has happened so be it. Open air space,survival of the quickest then!
As noted I will move the decoy around every day or so.
As noted I will move the decoy around every day or so.
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A bird that looks like a female cardinal is a summer Tanager and the main diet of this bird is bees I had the same problem last year and used the sss method to solve the problem. The female tanager is a dark colored bird and also enjoys bees.
I am a shoot first ask questions later type of guy. Guess it go's back to my younger years when Mockingbirds were mesing with my cat. So I poped'em. :shhhh: (Texas State Bird) Well come to find out they were defening their young/nest. So I leave them alone now. Unless I see them on my maters. So if I see something in my garden or messin with my bees their getting it.Why are people so quick to resort to killing to "solve"
Disclamer:
I did save a crackle from death 2 days ago. My daughters outside cat came running by with a baby in its mouth. I grabed the cat and saved the bird. But the bird hopped into the neighbors yard upon witch their dog killed it. So it really turned out to be an epic fail. But I tried.
This ones for you Derek
My amish neighbor's guinneas were eating my bees for weeks at my home yard. I went and asked him how I can solve the problem of his livestock eating my livestock. He told me to shoot them and I said if I am shooting them I will be eating them. I haven't seen the guinnes since and I didn't get to taste any either. I guess the neighbor felt it was better that he ate them instead of me.
I put CD's on fishing line and hung them from the trees aroung the hives. That plus the hawk decoy has helped.
I wouldn't mind the birds eating the bees but they are new packages and it seems unfair the birds were picking them off the bottom board in the morning when the bees were to cold to fly.
I wouldn't mind the birds eating the bees but they are new packages and it seems unfair the birds were picking them off the bottom board in the morning when the bees were to cold to fly.
You're getting the third s wrong.
That's funny.
Last year we had a cardinal bothering one of our hives. I bought a cheap rubber snake and set it on top of the telescoping cover. The birds left them alone after that.
When the County Apiary inspector came over we got a little chuckle from his surprise when he first approached the hives.
He commented that he was tempted to take it to the next persons hives he was to inspect, and place it inside the outer cover.
When the County Apiary inspector came over we got a little chuckle from his surprise when he first approached the hives.
He commented that he was tempted to take it to the next persons hives he was to inspect, and place it inside the outer cover.
Well the bird is still hanging around. I think the Owl has proved to be only a temporary deterent. Now the bird sits up on a neighbors garage roof and swoops down as soon as a bee trys to fly out from the hive.She is there bright and early and stays out until sunset.Gonna try cds or pie pans.
Last night my hive was visited by a curious baby rabbit. I don't think the
rabbit is interested.
Last night my hive was visited by a curious baby rabbit. I don't think the
rabbit is interested.
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