Bird plague

[keestha]

To give you a feel for the setting first: I have a small resort in a semi rural area, the bungalows are around the garden which has a lot of trees and shrubs, and the open air restaurant is on the second floor of the main building.

The last few months, the yellow beaked birds (common mina, or nok iang in Thai) have become a plague, often 6 or 8 in the restaurant making a hell lot of noise, fighting among each other. Please city dwellers don't come with comments like "how can somebody be bothered by a few birds sweetly chirping ?" Often they are positively screaming, and I have to chase them away to be able to resume the conversation I was having.

What could be done to keep them away a bit, without hurting them?

Edited April 27, 2014 by keestha

[Robby nz]

Its nesting season mate , fortunately unlike some humans they don't shoot each other over a girlfriend.

Advertise your place as a birdwatchers paradise.

Just keep chasing them out if you feel you have to.

[jvs]

Make sure they never find anything to eat at your place,if they do they will keep coming back.

Do they have a nest in your resort?

Sounds like you have a great place,please do not forget the positive things about it,don't let the birds ruin you life.

[Mousehound]

The myna is in the starling family and are gregarious as well as querulous and very smart. The Common Indian Myna can cause health probms and is very invasive. It is known to evict other bird species. First make sure you have the correct species as there are several species in Northern Thailand.

Playing dirty

Mynas compete aggressively for nesting hollows, chasing away competitors and even throwing other birds' chicks out of the nest. President of the Queensland Ornithological Society Peter Crowe says he witnessed a group of nesting mynas going to the trouble of filling up nearby vacant nesting hollows with rubbish - the mynas didn't need the extra nests, but they sure as hell won't going to allow any other bird use them!

Closer to home, mynas love nesting in the roofs of houses, and the accumulated droppings and mites are a breeding ground for disease. Inhaled mites can cause asthma and hay fever, and their bites cause itching. Once the baby birds have fledged, the mites get hungry and move down into the house in search of alternative food - the human residents. Peter Blythe of the Central Coast Common Myna Action Group warns that Common Mynas have the potential, as do any birds living close to humans, to spread salmonellosis, Newcastle Disease, Avian influenza and infections leading to pneumonia

The above is from an ABC Science web page:

http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2004/04/08/2044900.htm

As you can read from this site many countries are trying to cull the numbers. They do seem to like palm trees and human habitation. The latter is of course not easily addressed but if you have a number of palm trees that may be worth looking at. If you do cull these birds - and I am not saying this is the way to go, then you need to make sure you comply with local regulations (if there are any) and ensure other species are not harmed. Don't let people feed them and ensure scraps of food are not left about.

If all else fails they are great mimics and can be taught to speak. You may find them better company than some of your guests.

[keestha]

Its nesting season mate , fortunately unlike some humans they don't shoot each other over a girlfriend.

They are monogamous, so it is more like couples warring with other couples over food sources, territory and nesting space.

[marko kok prong]

very difficult bird to get rid of,i know,i used to be a Pest manager back in Aus,were they are a big problem,we tried to get rid of them from a shopping centre,tried everything,baiting,false eagles,loud noises under the trees they where nesting in at night ,nothing worked,eventually we gave up,and as we were unsuccessfull well no charge,after that i never took on another job were these birds were involved,i fear there is little you can do,except make sure they do not have any food sources and they may move on.

[keestha]

Sigh......tx Marko. Might try to find a toy bird and remodel it to look like a myna, and hang it upside down in the restaurant. In the area where I grew up (rural part of the Netherlands) at farms they used to keep away crows that way, using a real dead crow.

[BookMan]

[isanbirder]

With yellow bills, they're common mynahs (brown) or white-vented mynahs (black) all right. And very difficult to get rid of.

Tricks like raptor or owl silhouettes may work for a short while, but these birds aren't stupid, and soon learn.

Possibly the best approach is to find out where they roost (quite likely a palm tree), cut it down or get rid of it somehow. The other thing is to make sure they find no food scraps in/near your resort. These birds are omnivorous, and will take the easy option if there is one.

Edited April 27, 2014 by isanbirder

[marcusd]

This is Thailand. Shoot them. They ate a serious invasive pest I think originally from India.

Marcusd. Via tapatalk

[marko kok prong]

Yes,shooting is the best way,but i think the op said he did not want to hurt them,also the bird traps are very expensive or at least were when i was in Australia,and i doubt they are available here,possibly you could get one made,but this could effect the buisness as tourists may think it cruel,as usually when full,a cover is placed over it and they are gassed with a car exhaust,the dead bird theory can sometimes work,but with Mynah's i think not,you could try netting off the roof of the resturant,so they can't perch in there,as really you don't want them cr*ping in there,but to be honest i agree with Marcusd,shooting is always the best option with pest birds,we were not allowed to do it in Australia,and even in the Uk when we shot them when i worked for a large pest company there,we had to do it at night,inside warehouses ect,these birds also breed quickly so you will have to weigh up yes you don't want to hurt them but what about your buisness.

[h90]

So you want a natural style resort, which is sterile and without this ugly dirty nature?.......

these birds are very funny to watch and it gets too much throw a stone at them.....Or get a cat.

[marko kok prong]

yes a cat could be worth a try.

[h90]

yes a cat could be worth a try.

but than the guests have 3 cats begging for food instead of 5 birds messing around.....

[marko kok prong]

yes a cat could be worth a try.

but than the guests have 3 cats begging for food instead of 5 birds messing around.....

good point,also cats can have fleas,maybe a stuffed cat,that could be moved around.

[benalibina]

yes a cat could be worth a try.

but than the guests have 3 cats begging for food instead of 5 birds messing around.....

good point,also cats can have fleas,maybe a stuffed cat,that could be moved around.

Most interesting conversation i have read between 2 members. More please.

Btw ...good luck Kees.

[marko kok prong]

Have been deep in thought about this,you know those dogs that they used to put on the back shelf of a car,with the nodding heads,now if you could get a stuffed cat ,that could do that and mount it in the resturant area,well you may just,and pardon the pun'kill two birds with one stone', first it could scare of the Mynah birds and two it could be a tourist attraction,a kind of oddity,a talking point,hell you could even put a speaker near it and record sounds of cats,a little unorthodox i know,what do you think,it might work.

[h90]

yes a cat could be worth a try.

but than the guests have 3 cats begging for food instead of 5 birds messing around.....

good point,also cats can have fleas,maybe a stuffed cat,that could be moved around.

Well the cats are easier to lock in somewhere when the guest come, also the female customer always things this pest is cute and feeds them, which is good for business.

If they get a problem, you can introduce some dogs to get rid of the cats.

[marko kok prong]

yes a cat could be worth a try.

but than the guests have 3 cats begging for food instead of 5 birds messing around.....

good point,also cats can have fleas,maybe a stuffed cat,that could be moved around.

Well the cats are easier to lock in somewhere when the guest come, also the female customer always things this pest is cute and feeds them, which is good for business.

If they get a problem, you can introduce some dogs to get rid of the cats.

Like the thinking here h90,hell maybe he could just change the place to a safari type resort,get some tigers in to eat the dogs,dig a pond get some crocs in, we may be on the way to making the op a millionare here,i can see it now' Kees safari/resort',of course he may need to upgrade his insurance.

[Prbkk]

Serve them for dinner. A plate of fried birds is a delicacy

[tw25rw]

A model of a bird of prey perched somewhere prominent and moved occasionally.

[isanbirder]

With yellow bills, they're common mynahs (brown) or white-vented mynahs (black) all right. And very difficult to get rid of.

Tricks like raptor or owl silhouettes may work for a short while, but these birds aren't stupid, and soon learn.

Possibly the best approach is to find out where they roost (quite likely a palm tree), cut it down or get rid of it somehow. The other thing is to make sure they find no food scraps in/near your resort. These birds are omnivorous, and will take the easy option if there is one.

I don't usually quote my own posts, but since several people obviously did not read it, and repeated what I said, here it is!

Models don't work for long.

Nature abhors a vacuum, and if you shoot one lot, it won't be long before a new lot take over.

Why do you think the birds come to your resort? Easily obtained food is one answer; another one is that it's near somewhere where they like to roost. Remove the reasons for them coming, and they won't come.

[h90]

With yellow bills, they're common mynahs (brown) or white-vented mynahs (black) all right. And very difficult to get rid of.

Tricks like raptor or owl silhouettes may work for a short while, but these birds aren't stupid, and soon learn.

Possibly the best approach is to find out where they roost (quite likely a palm tree), cut it down or get rid of it somehow. The other thing is to make sure they find no food scraps in/near your resort. These birds are omnivorous, and will take the easy option if there is one.

I don't usually quote my own posts, but since several people obviously did not read it, and repeated what I said, here it is!

Models don't work for long.

Nature abhors a vacuum, and if you shoot one lot, it won't be long before a new lot take over.

Why do you think the birds come to your resort? Easily obtained food is one answer; another one is that it's near somewhere where they like to roost. Remove the reasons for them coming, and they won't come.

specially these birds are extreme smart and learn very fast.

I think with a restaurant there always will be some food to find for the birds.