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Bullfinches love Arthur Turner apple buds
Liriodendron
Posts: 8,328
I'm trying to think of a deterrent to save some buds on my huge Arthur Turner apple tree from the bullfinches. They are beautiful birds, and I don't begrudge them the odd bud - but every morning when I open the bedroom curtains there's a pair of them munching away. It looks as if they've stripped virtually the whole 30ft tree. Nothing will work to save this year's crop, but can I do anything before next spring to deter them?
Should I plant loads more fruit trees, in the hope that the bullfinches will divide their time between them, thus leaving some buds to develop into flowers on each tree? Or will they just invite their friends in for a bud fest? Or is there something I can use to protect just a section of the Arthur Turner? I'm not greedy - don't mind sharing... (My granny used an old net curtain to protect one branch of her cherry tree from the birds, when the fruit was ripening.)
Or should I festoon the tree with old CDs? Has anyone succeeded in deterring bullfinches?
Should I plant loads more fruit trees, in the hope that the bullfinches will divide their time between them, thus leaving some buds to develop into flowers on each tree? Or will they just invite their friends in for a bud fest? Or is there something I can use to protect just a section of the Arthur Turner? I'm not greedy - don't mind sharing... (My granny used an old net curtain to protect one branch of her cherry tree from the birds, when the fruit was ripening.)
Or should I festoon the tree with old CDs? Has anyone succeeded in deterring bullfinches?
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
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But I'll probably not try the solution which worked for his neighbour, which was to put a bird table in the branches of each fruit tree so the bullfinches had something else to eat. Knowing my luck they'd invite all their friends, and have the sunflower seeds for dinner with the fruit buds for dessert...