In #3 i meant till now rather than closer to planting which will be around May 20. I would think if there are seeds and stuff i bring up when i till then the birds will already have got to them within a month.

they are attracted to for lack of a better term, color changes. after you till the ground is mostly brown with probably roots and sticks and what have you intermitently dispersed. birds flying over see grass, grass, grass, brown patch with white stuff (roots usually, at least in my garden)
and subsequently land to forage. this time of year they eat pretty much anything tender, grass, small leaves, worms, bugs, grubs, etc etc etc.

they tore apart my only chiletepin i put outside so far, now it is back inside, under a lamp, with only one leaf left. it takes a long time but i've found that as long as the stalk of the plant is not withered, it will usually grow new leaves and begin growing again.

in the past i have used cds on string, pin wheels, and a loud yard windmill that nothing would stay near. But the best deterrent i have found so far is our three cats. although they seemed to have dropped the ball this year.

i do wish they would feast on the weeds i am going to have to pick this weekend.

Thanks for the reply. Looks like they did your cheltepins what they did to a lot of my peppers last year. Unfortunately mine never recovered like you did. A coupe grew a couple set of leaves but they never thrived. See i might be a little different than your situation because i have a huge corn field in back of me). Not sure how a cd on a string think would work. If its effective then please let me know. Unfortunately no cats though.

The only thing i can think is till as far from plant time as possible and also plant a little later than usual so hopefully they have enough food that they aren't attacking my peppers. What do you think?

that may work well for you, we tend to leave our ground fallow for about a week before planting (more out of procrastination than anything) and they don't seem to stick around (as much) after they have thoroughly foraged through the dirt.

The cd on a string has limited success. The theory behind it is that a bright glint, in an animals mind, is usually that of the eye of a predator. much like shining a flashlight or catching an animals eye in your headlamp you kind of get that odd glare. but anyway, they associate it with danger and avoid the area. The problems we had were keeping them in an area where they would spin and just like anything else after awhile they seemed to lack effectiveness.

if you are not adverse to sport, being in a rural setting (i would not suggest otherwise) a little bird shot in a .22 goes a long way (note: the casing will jamb in a semi automatic rifle or pistol, only recommended for a revolver or bolt action rifle that accepts .22 LR cartridges.) Also various outdoor/farm supply stores sell sparrow live traps for chicken coups which can be baited with a little bird seed; although i have not tried the caging setup yet so i cannot attest to how well it works.

i can't help but think scare crow when i think of a corn field :)

just a thought, do you have any bird feeders in the area that attract the birds?

if so, maybe moving them farther from the garden would help? and if not, maybe adding them would draw them from the garden... like sacrificial companion plants.

oh and another tid bit learned from experience and a lot of time correcting it, if you buy bird seed, avoid mixes with thistle (unless you happen to like thistle) it survives the intestinal tract and sprout everywhere the birds have been. we made that mistake a few years ago and have been battling it ever since. I go out about once a month or so on the ranger and cut up any i see with a hand held weed whacker and as long as i get them before they seed out they usually don't come back in the area

well, that got a bit windy, hopefully something was helpful,

good luck!

Trent

My friend swears by the old black trash bag tied to a stick. Says it keeps the pest out of his garden. Must be the sound and movement of the bag. I guess if there is not much wind it doesn't do so well.