Bird Scarers going off at 5 a.m. - reasonable or not?

MiJodsR2BlinkinTite

MiJodsR2BlinkinTite

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As title really.

We live near a village: and during the last week or so a local farmer has set off a bird scarer which seems set to go off every ten minutes or so, and it then sounds "bang" once, then twenty seconds later there is a second "bang".

I have heard the bleddy thing going off at 5.00 a.m. - but its not as bad here as it obviously is in the village as tonight I've had an e-mail from someone who is a lot closer than we are to it, not just to us but to others in the village, to ask whether other people have been disturbed by it in the early hours.

Please note: I am NOT criticising the farmer concerned - coming from farming stock I fully appreciate the need to use these things as birds take a lot of crops and cause very expensive damage and loss. So fully aware of the issues involved.............. but at 5 a.m. FFS??? I think there's going to be a lot of ill-feeling coming from residents of our nearby village about this. Perhaps a little consultation beforehand (local Parish Council, so people would know??) would have been wise?

There's also the issue of safety. Our horses here have heard it and so SHOULD be immune to it, and are usually, they don't react at all; but we're some way from the village where it is noticeably more noisy. This evening we went down the road through the village and past the "noisy" bit - and they jumped out of their skins as it was a lot louder down in the village. These are both reasonably steady cobs with their brains in the right place, not scatty TB's or youngsters, or kids out on their ponies. A notice saying there's a birdscarer in the area would help a lot.

So opinions please...... 5.00 a.m. for a birdscarer: reasonable? or not??
 
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I would say yes it is reasonable, but as you say a notice pointing out its existence would be good (assuming it is near a public right of way).
 
It depends how loud & how close to houses. One near our village last year could be heard loudly and sounded like a battle going on. Another farmer won't have them near his own house as he can't stand the sound of them.
 
Not sure if my horse would be able to read a note saying "bird scarer in area"! Horses get used to sudden sounds very easily. The yard I am one has a regular shoot every other Sunday and no horses react.

On a human note, wherever you live in the UK there will be noise disturbance. This country is too small to get away from every irritating noise - but it is amazing how quickly you get used to these sounds, and eventually manage to ignore them. People who live near train lines don't notice the noise until they get a visitor who points it out.

5 in the morning wouldn't bother me. Having had horses and a full time job for 30+ years, 5 is a lie in. Even now when I don't actually have to getup until 6 I am still wide awake at 4:30 every day.

I do appreciate that it can be annoying, but I am sure you do things that upset other people - we all do.
 
there are 'no laws' re bird scarers however, NFU have written a guidance document, so I would be knocking at their doors first and ask for a copy of it.

Of course it is just 'guidance' and not enforceable but if the parish council get on their band wagon then that poor farmer will be wishing he had read the guidance!!!!
 
That would drive me absolutely batty. 7am no problem (although I would have a grumble to myself on a Sunday morning) but 5am is really tough. Unfortunately, I doubt there is much you can do about it.
 
Well I don't think it's reasonable there's no need for it to be going off at ten thirty at night bad ,disorganised, thoughtless farming , but I think I would grin and bear it at five am .
 
OP, they get set on dawn to dusk setting, so 5am is normal time for them to go off, however now it is fully dark, it shouldn't be. It's probably faulty, which happens, and in your situation I would approach the farmer and let him know, a faulty bird scarer going off at night is just a waste of gas from his point of view, so he should appreciate you letting him know :)
 
OP,5 am isn't that bad for a limited time and I think I would swap you one bird scarer for our local unregistered pack of hounds, who almost constantly fight and howl at all times of the year :(
 
It always surprises me that no one steals the gas canisters. They have a hefty deposit on them and when you think of the fence energisers that get stolen you would imagine them to be a target as well.
 
We used to be a mile away from one that went off maybe twice a day, that was no problem. Fly and Molly could be walking past down the road, 20ft from.it and the most either of them.did was just jolt a little but not actually spook.

At the new house, there is one about 250 yards away. It does the double bang about a dozen times in the morning and evening as apparently that's when the birds like to be there. The sound has worked wonders in desensitising Stig to loud bangs and it honestly doesn't bother us. 5 am to 10:30 incessantly is too much though in my book.
 
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