[TowerTalk] Ridding Birds from the Tower

Wed Nov 20 15:59:43 EST 2013

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 at 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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