Sulphur-crested Cockatoos - any ideas to discourage?

[Uncle Yarra]

They've been attacking any succulent we put in and now they've decided to rip out anything of size in the herb spiral. Nets are not practical for the site in question.

P.S. No, I don't have a shotgun or dogs.

[TropicalRose]

Frisbees? Done often enough it might discourage them. Otherwise the usual foil and streamers or imitation hawks on strings.

[Uncle Yarra]

Hawks on string sounds feasible. Thanks!

[gardenlen]

are you there when they are?

we have had good luck in simply scaring them by yelling a clapping loudly, dunno waht the neighbours think but they tried invading our orange trumpet vine only tried once, if water was plentiful they don't like a jet of water coming their way, maybe one of those pump up waterpistol thingies?

len

[paradisi]

get a bird dog - our little fella has been trained to chase off the crows but leaves just about everything else.

[TropicalRose]

Oh I just had an afterthought. I remember not too long ago accidentally scaring all the birds away from my pond by putting a plastic crocodile there and they didn't return for ages after I removed it. Might be worth a try, also cheap plastic snakes and snakeskins. Good luck!

[memyselfiau]

My mother had terrible trouble with black cockatoos in southern victoria, eating all her cherries - we only ever got a handful. One year, a pair of wattle birds nested in one of the trees, and chased everything else off!!! That year, she gave away buckets of cherries - yes, to me!! The second year, the original cockatoos must have remembered cause although the wattle birds did not come back, neither did they.
Sally

[Terra]

Sally thats very interesting about the wattle birds , since the big bushfire we have rebuilt the native garden and planted new fruit trees we now have wattle birds and yes they are very aggressive to other birds they particularly like the acorn banksias we have and defend them relentlesly it might be worth putting in a few more alongside the fruit trees and we might not have to net the fruit trees . I intend to trelliss the fruit trees and build a permanent cover over them with a few ducks underneath .
Terra

[Uncle Yarra]

We do see wattle birds around, I might look up how to encourage them a bit more - thanks again PCDFers!

[bazman]

Hi All

I have a nesting tree for cockatoos and rainbow lorikeet's that over looks my 1/2 acre orchard, apart from the odd attack on their much loved passion fruit's they leave me alone, maybe it's because of the nest, each day the pair fly off into the many old forest trees in this local area to feast.. I don't often get groups of cockatoos here because it's a nesting site I think.

I have just planted a future feast for wild life with over a 100 native giant trees in my western wind block like Eucalyptus grandis, not that I'll be around in 200yrs to see them growing (fingers crossed)

If you can get a nesting bird in your garden that might keep the cockatoos away, magpie's might be a good option. as here they just dig around the mulch for worms they are one of the main bird's in the orchard.