A deranged-looking scarecrow may be just the thing for a Halloween horror flick, but its scare power may be more mythical than factual.
Bird buffs say some birds don’t seem to become spooked, at least not for very long.
“American crows are very perceptive, and smart,” Thunder Bay-based expert Brian Ratcliff said on Wednesday.
“A scarecrow might work initially as it is something new, but the crows will soon figure out that it does not move, and it is not a threat,” said Ratcliff, who writes a regular column about birds for The Chronicle-Journal.
Geese often flock in after farmers plant winter wheat in the fall, but plots are usually roped off with strings to deter the big birds.
“Field damage usually occurs towards the borders of fields,” said Tarlok Singh Sahota, the director of Lakehead University’s agricultural research station just south of Thunder Bay.
“I have never seen a crop failure due to bird damage,” Singh Sahota added.
Earlier this year, the Town of Marathon had some success with deterring flocks of Canada geese at the municipal golf course by placing out statues that resembled real coyotes.
The gambit seemed to keep the geese off the fairways, but the downside was that some of them migrated into town, soiling sidewalks.
In movies and television, scarecrows capture the imagination, whether it’s Dorothy’s pal in The Wizard of Oz, or the mischievous Spud in the Bob the Builder children’s series.
“I’m sure some people are convinced they work,” Ratcliff remarked.
Meanwhile, Conmee Township is hosting a contest featuring carved pumpkins and “homemade” scarecrows.
Entrants can be dropped off at the municipal office today during regular business hours, and before 10 a.m. on Saturday.
Judging is to take place on Saturday from 11 a.m-1:30 p.m.
