The iconic bird scarer for children to make is, of course, the scarecrow. It’s quite a complicated project to try and many are a tad too large for small suburban gardens. Having already tried hanging CDs over our plot we appreciate that scarers do perform an important role. So we were delighted to take this idea from a National Trust Allotment – a very mobile potato bird ideally suited to scare its feathered friends away.
We found we already had everything we needed to make it:-
• A large knobbly potato for its head.
• Feathers found in the garden from a bird which probably didn’t make it.
• A teasel for its beak, though you could use another small potato.
• A thin piece of bamboo stick (approx 6 feet in length) which will bend easily.
• String to tie it too the stick.
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| Potato Bird Scarer |
First make a hole through the centre of your potato. This will need adult supervision. Ours was quite a soft old potato so the hole was easily made. Then attach the beak and decorate with feathers and any other objects that take your fancy. Finally thread the string through the hole in the potato and tie a large note at that end. Tie the other end of the string to the bamboo stick allowing sufficient length so the bird is approximately two feet off the ground when the pole is fully flexed.
Then, hey presto, you have a mobile bird which can circle and move around your vegetable patch, showing the other birds who is in charge. At least that is the theory. Let me know what you think and how you get on.
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