Annoying cockatoos

[gofish]

Just looking for some ideas/help with cockatoos. Every night the local flock of cockatoos enter our estate & roost. They stay in the surrounding gum trees (inc. one outside our house) & then proceed to screech & destroy the trees leaving debris all over the ground. I cleaned up all the bits they chewed off & mowed the lawn yesterday & today it already looks like crap again :mad: Anyone got any suggestions on how to.....get them to move on?

[snowbound]

Round them up and take them to England. Worth nabout 4 grand each there! :wasntme:

[gofish]

Round them up and take them to England. Worth nabout 4 grand each there! :wasntme:
Thanks mate. Here's your chance to retire early then. Grab ya net & pop on over :p

[ramblingboy42]

I love them ...the local flock visit in full or part numbers several times a day.

I have a large feeder of wild birdseed and a water bowl hanging on a tree branch.

I spend about $15/week on seed.

If they have a reason to be in your trees they aren't very destructive.

I also attract the local galahs, little corellas, lorikeets, several different rosellas and king parrots.

Crested pigeons and water fowl feed on the spill and the minors hang around in good numbers. Ravens also hang around and knock off a few cane toads.

I just cannot understand how Australians complain endlessly about the beautiful wildlife we have at our back door.

[Sitec]

We live in Cockatoo Valley.... so I can't complain!! :D Love them.. All part of this wonderful country!! Here's one of our local group!! :D

[AndyG]

Your on your own gofish, accept and enjoy. And be grateful it's not 10,000 fruit bats with hendra virus.

[Greatsouthernland]

Your on your own gofish, accept and enjoy. And be grateful it's not 10,000 fruit bats with hendra virus.

:D that's funny!

...or those seagull things from that Steven Spielberg movie "Birds".

[Greatsouthernland]

Just looking for some ideas/help with cockatoos. Every night the local flock of cockatoos enter our estate & roost. They stay in the surrounding gum trees (inc. one outside our house) & then proceed to screech & destroy the trees leaving debris all over the ground. I cleaned up all the bits they chewed off & mowed the lawn yesterday & today it already looks like crap again :mad: Anyone got any suggestions on how to.....get them to move on?

I have heard that hanging Crow like wooden cut outs in the trees or rubber snakes will cause them not to make a permanent stopover.

Let us know how that goes.

[LandyAndy]

Blow up several baloons and pop them just as they are roosting,they dont like it.
Have a problem here with galahs,I just slap the shed,it moves them on.
Andrew

[Greatsouthernland]

I love them ...the local flock visit in full or part numbers several times a day.

I have a large feeder of wild birdseed and a water bowl hanging on a tree branch.

I spend about $15/week on seed.

If they have a reason to be in your trees they aren't very destructive.

I also attract the local galahs, little corellas, lorikeets, several different rosellas and king parrots.

Crested pigeons and water fowl feed on the spill and the minors hang around in good numbers. Ravens also hang around and knock off a few cane toads.

I just cannot understand how Australians complain endlessly about the beautiful wildlife we have at our back door.


Would you like an unseasonably large volume of red-bellied black snakes? Brothers place 'grazing country along river' is teaming with them...and yep, he's complaining - the whinger :mad: beautiful wildlife...my :eek: he says :D

[AndyG]

With the parrots eating my corn, old CD 's spinning in the sun move them on , but I suspect galah's are not that nervous.

Just on dawn, 100 hornbills having a yack about the days activities, marvelous.

[ramblingboy42]

Would you like an unseasonably large volume of red-bellied black snakes? Brothers place 'grazing country along river' is teaming with them...and yep, he's complaining - the whinger :mad: beautiful wildlife...my :eek: he says :D

yes, I encourage any natural and fauna.

if he has red bellied blacks , that means that there is an unusual supply of food there.

once the food supply reduces so will the snakes.

the redbelly is venomous , but not very aggressive.In fact it's quite timid when humans are around and will lay flat quietly or turn and go in the other direction. Tell him to give them their space.

I had redbellies around my first home .....they will visit your fishpond.....and showed my quite young children and taught them to respect them at an early age.

I now have the odd green tree snake and python around.....birds feeding....mice rats eat spill .....snakes catch them......the cycle goes on.

[Greatsouthernland]

yes, I encourage any natural and fauna.

if he has red bellied blacks , that means that there is an unusual supply of food there.

once the food supply reduces so will the snakes.

the redbelly is venomous , but not very aggressive.In fact it's quite timid when humans are around and will lay flat quietly or turn and go in the other direction. Tell him to give them their space.

I had redbellies around my first home .....they will visit your fishpond.....and showed my quite young children and taught them to respect them at an early age.

I now have the odd green tree snake and python around.....birds feeding....mice rats eat spill .....snakes catch them......the cycle goes on.


Well that's what I expected you to write:D

He (and I when visiting) aren't as fond, great that your kids listened, out of our 6 all up, 2 have some sort of Aspergers behaviours that see them doing the opposite of what you tell them, others are too young to remember the instruction. Aged 3 - 12. Then there's the cats, dogs, wives. The water bowls of the pets that bring the snakes to the house....give them room?

Anyway, we understand their part in our environment, it's a healthy sign etc. just offering a slightly less affectionate view if that's ok...a bit tongue in cheek if you hadn't guessed :p

Cheers from the elapid aware.

.

[SuperMono]

The Cockatoos are OK, the noise doesn't worry me and I find it nice to have them around, however destructively removing the timber from my house or deck doesn't go down so well.

We found to reduce the numbers to something manageable we had to stop feeding the parrots for a start (still hand feed a few).
The spinning CDs were effective for about 67seconds.
Moved on to a water pistol, first hot day they all came in for a spray to cool them down.
Most effective was a remote control helicopter, as soon as I sighted one getting stuck into the house or deck I fired up the chopper and chased them back into the trees.
If they just came down for drink and to tap at the window (hello, where's my food?) I left them alone.
We now have a lesser number of regular Cockatoo visitors and (so far) no more house eating issues.

If they are really bothering you, my great uncle used to swear by a quarter stick of Gelly around dusk.

[Redback]

:D that's funny!

...or those seagull things from that Steven Spielberg movie "Birds".

Or Alfred Hichcock;)

Baz.

[gofish]

Don't get me wrong folks. I don't dislike cockies. I am just sick of them destroying everything. If they ate the gum trees then fine, but they just chew off bits which ruins the trees & leaves a hell of a mess. I have also had them have a munch on the house too. Every year there numbers are increasing also......it's not like they are an endangered species. Maybe I could eat them one by one....anyone got any good recipes ? :D

[bee utey]

My personal trick would be to run an air line off a compressor up the tree with the last 6ft hanging free, when the cockies land open up a valve on the compressor valve and watch them leave in a hurry.

[lyonsy]

Farmers around here seem to like a 22 on the porch, seems to get rod of them even when they miss

[87County]

Similarly to some of the other helpful hints, if you have good water pressure or a pressure washer it can be effective.

As others have said, there are worse pests to have. At least your cockies are not destroying your house yet. It has happened elsewhere that they have chewed through verandah posts and worse.

[87County]

..... Maybe I could eat them one by one....anyone got any good recipes ? :D


I think the recipe goes something like this...

boil in a billy with a big stone, check stone with a fork for tenderness and when soft, chuck out cocky and eat stone. :)

[CraigE]

What type of Cockies? Are they native to the area? While it does not look like they use the gum trees they do for sharpening beaks and do eat some of the gum nuts. Yes they are destructive, but this is natural.
I can thoroughly understand you not wanting them around your house and there are some ways suggested to do this, however if you have bought rural, semi rural or in estates with stands of bush to attract native animals you will probably need to put up with.
I love the sound of cockies in the morning and at night and I do know how hard they can be to put up with having lived in Newman where thousands of Correllas would invade the town and hang off power lines, eat your grass etc.
Where we are now we have ducks, 28s and doves invade our back yard.
Good luck with this as I think you will be fighting a losing battle.
Cheers
Craig

[Hall]

Well we used to have a few cockies checking out our place for food and soft wood to chew through. They used to land on the veranda rail, so about 50mm up from the rail I strung a tight wire between the posts. I soon discovered they were not amused, One would come in to land and end up face first into the deck. The was followed by strutting about, crest up and squawking. They soon decided to move on. :) Don`t mind them about in the trees. We even have a few of the black ones due to the pine trees around here. But they can stay away from the house. :mad:
Cheers Hall

[snowbound]

yes, I encourage any natural and fauna.

if he has red bellied blacks , that means that there is an unusual supply of food there.

once the food supply reduces so will the snakes.

the redbelly is venomous , but not very aggressive.In fact it's quite timid when humans are around and will lay flat quietly or turn and go in the other direction. Tell him to give them their space.

I had redbellies around my first home .....they will visit your fishpond.....and showed my quite young children and taught them to respect them at an early age.

I now have the odd green tree snake and python around.....birds feeding....mice rats eat spill .....snakes catch them......the cycle goes on.

Nobody ever died from a red belly bite! Surprising fact hey? Also, they kill browns! Now there is a GOOD reason to love them. Australian wildlife, love it.

[Greatsouthernland]

Nobody ever died from a red belly bite! Surprising fact hey? Also, they kill browns! Now there is a GOOD reason to love them. Australian wildlife, love it.

Ok ok ok :p having worked where we had the company of the inland taipan (other end of the toxicity scale), and now that the resident herpetologists confirm the blacks kill browns, we can learn to love them blacks I spose :angel: gradually.
.

[101RRS]

Woke up this morning with a bit of noise coming from my balcony.

About 20 of the white devils having fun on the balcony having breakfast. On the menu was the timber railing, the stuffing inside the tops of the outdoor chairs and the canvass of my roll out awning.

The damage - big chucks out of the railing timber that will have to be filled and repainted - two chairs damaged that will have to be seat backs replaced but I doubt they can be repaired so two new chairs and some canvas patches on the awning.

I have been mugged before and it is usually this time of year where food it hard for them find as they seem to like staying in the city and not go back home where they belong. No doubt because some goose is feeding them as my neighbour was doing a few years back until I suggested he not do so and then his place got mugged by the white devils even though he was feeding them. Only then did he stop when he was faced with a hefty repiar bill on his house.

I love the white darlings but only as long as they live somewhere else.:o

[Ausfree]

The Sulphur Crested Cockatoos used to sit on my old TV antenna and their weight broke the arms off it. I have replaced it with a new smaller digital antenna, the mongrels can't sit on that, ha.:p They don't hang around much now and when they do they sit on the back fence only.

[bob10]

I think you may be talking about Corellas, a species of Cockatoo. The reason we see them destroying the wood on our verandas , we have cut down most of their trees. Can't have it both ways, Bob


Little Corella | BIRDS in BACKYARDS (http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Cacatua-sanguinea)

[DeanoH]

'Rats with wings', 12 shot's good.

Deano :)

[101RRS]

While I was watching my neighbours house getting mugged by the white devils this morning I failed to see them also doing my canvas awning over again - doing further damage. They were very reluctant to move on even with me having a stick in hand and throwing things at them.

Driving around yesterday I could see where they had also hit our street lights. There is a rubber seal between the steel light housing and the glass/plastic cover and the devils eat this and sooner or later the glass falls the 10m to the ground smashing. Half of the lights in a nearby street either no longer have the glass or it is still hanging down waiting to fall.

I think the local power company has given up repairing the lights.

Garry