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Birds & CD's
I remember that my dad always hung alluminum banners from our cherry trees to keep the birds away. Last year, we had a problem with birds eating our blackberries. I was wondering if anybody ever tried hanging CD's (Those AOL CD's have to be good for something 
) on fruit trees/bushes to keep the birds away. I think it's a harmless thing to do or am I overlooking something?
Comments
Magpies
are definitely attracted to shiny things.
spelling
Aluminum is spelled aluminum (one "i") in the US, aluminium (two "i"s) in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and I don't know how it is spelled in Canada or anywhere else. But, I think it is not necessarily wrong to spell it the way someone from another English-speaking country than one's own would spell it, just a little odd. However, I don't think it is ever spelled with two "l"s.
either way....
I can't speak or write the word without remembering Sgt. Schultz on Hogan's Hero's (old T.V.) in a daze saying "ahhhhhlooooooominuuuuuuuum, ahhhhhhhhloooooooooooooominuuuuuuuum!"
I loved that show!
Lenora
Magpies & spelling
Thanks for clarifying the spelling issue, Becky. The German word for "aluminum" is "Aluminium" so I don't have any excuse for spelling the word with two "l"... I think, my brain is shriveling. My English teacher in high school told me that as long as I stuck to one country's way of spelling words, it was OK. She counted off if we used American spelling and British in the same essay, though.
Kerri, I had never heard of magpies. Kinda sounds like pastry
I looked it up and found out that magpies only live in California. I live in the south so I shouldn't have to worry about those birdies 
One for sorrow.....
Two for joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy
Five for Silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret never to be told.....
Have you never heard that rhyme about magpies Anja?
A single magpie is thought to be unlucky. If you see one, you should salute it and say 'Good morning Mr Magpie', thus averting bad luck. The alternative version is that you turn around on the spot while greeting the bird - that is likely to attract attention, so I'd stick with the saluting, which can be done a bit more surreptitiously.
Do I do it? Now that would be telling.....
Lacking American Childhood
Honey, I wasn't brought up in the US and before DD8 was born, I had never even heard of Mother Goose, I didn't know English baby language, didn't know American/British sayings, no English lullabies, nothing. You just taught me something new about those magpies
After reading the rhyme, I looked up "magpie" in the German dictionary. It's "Elster" and, yes, I know those. There is a German saying: "Stealing like a magpie".
If one of those critters goes after our blackberries, I may have to get a sling shot
(or maybe I should get a bird bath to make sure I get visited by more than just one 
)
Sorry Anja
I always assume everyone here is American! (except me and Kerri of course).
'Stealing like a magpie' is very apt - apparently they take anything shiny away to their nest. They might have trouble flying with a CD in their beaks though!
I never heard that rhyme Hone
I never heard that rhyme Honey, but it sounds very British to me!
Shiny Things
I know we used aluminum (sp?) pie pans in the garden. I think the reflection combined with the movement (in wind) was the key factor. If so, sounds like that would be a great use of all those CD's!
Just a thought, though....SOME birds are attracted by bright shiny things....It might be worth looking up specifics for the type of birds you're trying to scare....wouldn't want to have more of the flighty beasts around when you're trying to keem them away!
There are several craft sites out there with ideas for using those cd's, too!
Lenora
Ravens or Crows?
Lenora, I thought I did a spell check before posting but aluminum is spelled with only one "l"
My bad. I'll ask DD8 to do a "bird study report" about which birds are attracted to shiny things. I thought, it was just ravens and those are too heavy to be able to sit on a blackberry bush to steal our berries. Well, at least I think they are. For the first time since we planted the bushes we should be able to harvest enough blackberries at one time to make a pie (provided we don't serve as a food bank for the "flighty beasts" Love that expression! 
)
almost right
I am pretty sure that Canadians use American spelling for some words and British for others. It might be all British-- but I have the idea that it is "program" not "programme" but "neighbour" not "neighbor." I have Canadian relatives so I should know this, but I am not sure.
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