My hanging baskets of begoniasMy hanging baskets of begonias which I lovingly created are under attack. They are being subjected to an aerial bombardment. In the throes of passion, copulating pigeons keep falling off the pergola, smashing into the beautiful displays. Luckily, begonias are quite robust plants and seem to be coping well with the assault.

It reminded me of when my Dad waged war against these birds. He came up with a solution to scare the pigeons away when they were eating all the seed from the bird table, leaving none for his more delicate feathery friends. We called it Dad’s catapulting bird table. In brief, he added a piece of wood to both sides which was also attached to the edge of the bird table by a screw. It acted a bit like a see-saw. The smaller lighter birds could land without any trouble but the heavy ones, fell to the ground. Many a Sunday was spent watching those unsuspecting pigeons get the shock of their lives as the floor was removed from beneath them.

It all came to head, when a crow jumped from the roof of the bird table on to the platform just as a pigeon landed on the other side. It was catapulted up into the air, right over the hedge. At this point we realised that perhaps he had gone too far. We had visions of an unsuspecting dog walker, getting whacked round the head by a pigeon missile. Not to mention the poor bird. He was told by the females in his house to live and let live. A truce was drawn between my dad and the pigeons. I have decided to do the same and will just move my hanging baskets somewhere else. If anyone has any ideas on how to dissuade amorous pigeons please let me know, no catapults though ….

I have just discovered a spinning squirrel repeller on the Primrose website. When a heavy squirrel tries to get the nuts it spins, but doesn’t do anything when smaller birds use it. Brilliant! Imagine the hours of fun you could have watching spinning squirrels!

Annabel