If you're reading this article, you have concerns for the environment and try to take steps not to destroy it. This is extremely commendable, but even the heartiest environmentalist hates the things birds can do. Sometimes they are just letting nature take its course after eating while other times they seemed to have picked your space as home. A couple birds can be great. A flock can drive you insane.

The traditional method of dealing with excessive attention from birds is the use of scarecrows. In theory, scarecrows present birds with the illusion of a person being present and supposedly get the birds to move along to another neighborhood. As with many traditional beliefs, this one is partially true. Birds don't care for humans, but traditional scarecrows really aren't particularly persuasive. Something that moves, however, definitely does the trick.

Modern scarecrows come in a variety of forms. None of them look like the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz. Instead, they tend to come in two primary forms.

The first is in the form of a predatory bird that is motion activated. A particular favorite is the owl, a known predator of most birds.

The second form of bird deterrents is the spinning arm device. Motion activated, the device sits on a platform and has long “arms” that whip around when activated. They are often called “whirly birds” or some similar title. To save a little money, you can even go with solar powered bird deterrents.

Solar powered deterrents tend to come in the whirly bird category. Motion activated predatory birds such as owls tend to be battery operated, which can make them expensive over time. The best approach is typically to buy a solar whirly bird and life-sized cheap owl. Place the owl an easily viewed area where the birds congregate and place the whirly bird exactly where they are causing problems. The combination usually takes care of any problems.