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blackbirds digging up bulbs

historymanhistoryman Posts: 141
in Problem solving
Any suggestions to stop blackbirds from digging up crocus bulbs. They don't touch any other bulbs, and it is only backbirds.
Thanks
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Posts

  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    Have you actually seen them historyman?  I have a squirrel very partial to crocus bulbs 


    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    They don't actively dig up bulbs. They're looking for insects, and as crocus bulbs are usually near the surface, they're just a casualty of that.
    Squirrels are the ones who tend to actively dig them up - for that reason. They're small, and nearer the surface, and they eat them. Blackbirds don't.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    If i tidy up the edges of my borders, the blackbirds will scatter the soil back over the grass.  I look on their efforts as pest control😊
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    Same here. They chuck mulch around as well. No stopping them. Just poke the bulbs back in when you see them on the surface.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    There's a house near me @B3, which has a little island border with a bark mulch.
    Often,  I see the bark on the grass, and sometimes  the blackbird, or one of them,  responsible. Makes me smile.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    It's easy enough to kick the soil back. I haven't got a comb and scissors lawn😉
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Me neither @B3.
    The blackies here chuck the bark onto the path after gorging themselves on the mahonia berries. They give it a good going over, and then hoover up the dropped ones.
    I always know when they've been in at it when I look out the front window and see the bark on the paving :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    Blackbirds will do whatever it takes to get to the juicy bugs.  I used bark as a mulch and within days they had slung it all over the lawn.  Absolutely no respect for other peoples property.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Bl**dy chavs @KT53 :D
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Of course the blackbirds may consider that you're invading their patch.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
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