a variety of birds are tearing up my backyard lawn, sometimes seed, sometimes grubs,,regardless ... HOW DO I KEEP THEM OFF THE LAWN :-?
You could try covering your yard with things that spin or shake in the wind that might scare the birds off. Some people spray so much chemical pesticides on their yards that birds keep away, but I don't recommend that for the health problems they can cause humans. Those huge plastic owls on roof tops or plastic snakes in the grass are supposed to work in some cases. Think of the birds as a natural pre-emergent weed killer. Plants disperse seeds, the wind carries them where it will and if the birds don't eat them you will have all sorts of weeds and other unwanted plants growing in your lawn. But they peck at the seeds that are on the surface of the ground. Are you seeing divots (holes) dug in your lawn? If so then it is not necessarily birds. Bluejays will stick acorns in the ground for winter storage much like squirrels do but other birds do not dig. You could have an oppossum, raccoon, squirrels or other rodents who eat grubs feasting on them and doing you a great service in the process. If the grubs are left to their own devices it won't be long until you won't have a lawn at all. The divots can usually be covered over by using the toe of your shoe to kick the soil/grass back into place.
I've never seen birds cause real damage to a lawn, but Toni has some good ideas here. We have big plastic owls, one on each gable of the house, because otherwise we get starlings who peck on our cedar siding and try to get into the vents - maybe to nest in the attic. The owls have done a fine job of keeping them away. The robins/finches/jays etc. go looking for earthworms and such in the lawn but cause no damage. Perhaps you have squirrels/gophers digging around?
i've seen em actually i have observed them, blackbirds, sparrows it what reminds me of gulls, diving on fish in the ocean .. a real " feeding frenzy "... and it's not holes ... but large clumps of grass torn up .... maybe the owls :-?
I learn something new every day. The birds will pluck moss from our lawn, and they make a mess in dry leaves and such, but I've never had them tear up the grass. Good luck with any deterring measure you decide to take.
Just a thought here. Has this been happening at other times of the year or just in spring time? Has your grass started greening-up or is it still the brown of dormancy? It is spring and if the grass is still brown the birds could be pulling some of it up for nesting material. I have watched sparrows yank brown blades out of our yard at this time every year, then after the nests are built or birdhouses are filled the grass pulling stops.
"feeding fenzy" there's no particular time they " feed" and it isn't always a group (6-10)...tho i have noticed when it is a larger group, it's only in 1 or 2 specific spots..and it's thrashing ( like when you see birds in dirt) as well as pecking at ??whatever .... as i type now ... i look out the window and a few robins some finches and a bluejay are about ... laughing at me i presume
Considering where you live, the birds just might be after Japanese beetle grubs that live in sod til it's time for them to immerge. A product called "Milky Spore" (which is a powder) can stop that. Isn't harmful to anything, and an application is good for 5 years worth of protection against the critters. Milky Spore can be gotten thru any number of plant catalogues, isn't that expensive.
As simplistic as my idea might sound... and not very helpful- perhaps hanging a birdfeeder and placing a birdbath in the area, within sight but away from the lawn will keep them off the lawn, i haven't yet had bird damage and they haven't bothered with grass, so i don't know for sure. Perhaps diverting their attention might work. They keep quite busy for weeks in the spring, taking bits of shredded bark mulch out of the gardens for their nests, and i have left my dogs'soft hair from their hairbrush and placed it where i want the birds to take things from. it seemed to train them and they were happy to look elsewhere for nesting material. I did notice that a neighbor who has chemicals sprayed in large amounts and frequently, has sometimes had huge flocks of loud and seemingly destructive birds on his lawn when the bugs are probably skeedaddling out of the lawn. if you have a large colony of worms at work as i do, a bird will come back looking for more. sorry, i know this post probably didn't help.
