The phenomenon of birds plaguing vegetable gardens is one that is familiar to most people who farm or garden. With those enticing edible goodies just there for the taking, feathered bandits can become very bold. However, there are some steps you can take to protect your crop against hungry birds.
One classic tactic is to put up a scarecrow. This can be a fun project that will allow you to express your creativity. Just find some old clothes and straw or other materials for stuffing, and you can erect this guardian in your garden. Many birds will be startled away by the presence of a human-like body and will keep their distance, at least for a while.
Of course, if the birds continue to come and see that this figure never moves, they will probably catch on that it isn’t actually alive. You might try moving the scarecrow to another part of the garden every week or so in order to keep the intruders on their toes. Another possibility is to incorporate windsocks or pinwheels into the clothing, sticking them out here and there so that it looks more like the scarecrow is moving, which is much more intimidating.
Another option is to put a real guard there. If you have an outside dog, why not station its doghouse near the garden? That way, when birds come to make off with those vegetables, the dog can scare them away by barking at them. Moreover, just seeing the dog there in the first place will deter some birds from approaching.
You might also consider scattering posts throughout the garden and suspending strings between them so that they flap in the wind and made it harder for birds to land on the ground in between. Any object that is going to move on its own is a good choice because it contains the element of surprise. For instance, some people put toy snakes in the garden, but these are more effective if they can be rigged up to provide the illusion of movement.
Fooling ravenous birds is not an easy task, so you need to employ some creativity. It’s best to set up your decoys at night so that the birds will be less likely to see what you are doing, and you might have to change things around fairly frequently to keep them confused. During the daytime, you yourself can keep them away as you tend to the weeding and watering, but when you are not there, these tricks should help keep your garden feather-free.