July 22 2008

8:00 am

Noticed that the blueberry pickers are back.

A dairy operation is injecting liquid manure in a field immediately adjacent to the north end of the blueberry field. We'll see if this attracts large numbers of Starlings. Makes me nervous.

"My" 2 Rough-legged hawks are working over my woods and surroundings, very vocal.

12 - Noon

All pickers gone.

Went over to move some of the JacKites to new positions and tie up a large pole that was slipping...will finish this tonight. Took 15 minutes.

Observed a mixed group of ~25 or so robins and finches flushing up out of the north central part of the field not picked. They flew a bit and re-landed on the ground.

In the rows that were just picked, there is a fair amount of ripe and green berries on the ground beneath the bushes. I am not sure what the efficiencies are with handpicking and their losses, but it looked like about 5-8%. I inspected a number of them thinking they were bird pecked, but none were. Probably just knocked of by normal hand picking action...nothing you can do about that.

Noticably quiet from cannon usage, last night and this morning.

CS

REMEMBER: The villain is the Starling. It is not the grower.