I like their Big Bug netting
Got this pic of a catbird today, they particularly like milk and tuna; fruit, not so much. Nice plumage.
A friend of ours says fake snakes laid on a fence or other prominent location helps keeps the boids at bay.
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Had an oriole in my sour cherry tree today, drinking nectar from blossoms. Does anyone know if they are destructive to the blooms/new fruit? I swear i read on here that someone had an oriole stripping flower petals off. But i can’t find it! Wondering if i should net it or let it be?
I think they don’t like the suburbs! I don’t have them here, but 35 miles away at my cottage on an island, hundreds of them there. So it’s not the water. Sparrows don’t seem to do anything I see? My only problem is Robins, some cardinals, but they spook easily and don’t come back. The dog scares them. Well squirrels too, but again the dog keeps them out. He almost got one the other day. Nettings works well for the squirrels, but the robins often try to get through often trapping themselves. Last year one got dangled in the net, in full sun and it cooked. It was dead when I found it. Then is happened again. At lest a couple a year die in my nets. many more trapped inside. You have to seal it everywhere around the blueberries.
I think that was a finch, we call them Hollywood finches here but they just call them house finches out west.
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I don’t think it was orioles, but one year i had a pair of birds in my plum tree that kept going after the blossoms. I don’t think fruit set was hurt, but that tree was one big bloom so it needed thinning.
Catbirds also love grapes. I’ve seen robins eating blueberries. Something pecks ripening fruit that shows any color…need to have wireless security cameras on every tree!
There is no beating birds in the city. Way too many bushes/shrubs/trees etc…bird feeders everywhere so i just starting covering fruit when i can…and if they get some oh well. I did stop picking damaged fruit hoping they would just keep eating the already hit stuff.
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Just looked out my window and saw a pair of catbirds patrolling the yard. Probably sizing up the blackcurrant bush. There was only one around last year …it brought a friend this year, how cute. 
To update, the oriole didn’t hurt anything. Here’s a grainy zoomed in pic.
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I had cat bird problems with my cherry blossoms. Year after year! And they love black currants when they are green! Netting is a must for me!
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Those are beautiful birds. I put oranges out for them but the catbirds are eating the oranges.
Neotropical migratory birds have it made. Winters in the tropics, summers in the north…get to fly…eat fruit… Poop on cars…
I sometimes watch the Cornell streaming (live) feeder cam…
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I missed this thread originally and am late, but I’m shocked at how different many of your answers are from what I experience. Particularly Robins. I have lots of Robins at my place and honestly have never once seen one eating fruit from my trees! And my worst offender by far hasn’t even been mentioned - mockingbirds. Mockingbirds do most of the fruit eating in my orchard. I think they are closely related to catbirds which I think are a big problems for me as well. Blue-jays are another frequent fruit eater for me. Cardinals will grab some occasionally as well. That is about it here. I have major and serious bird problems for sure, but all of it can be traced to just a few species.
,Catbirds are the worst. They peck At EVERYTHING and make such an annoying call. Blueberries, haskaps, figs, strawberries, and mulberries are all taken. They are horrible with figs pecking at every single one as they ripen. Organza bags were the only thing that guaranteed a harvest the past 2 years. They also destroyed half my crop of blackberries last year, packing at any berry they could and leaving the damaged berries to rot. This promoted SWD which rose to plague levels. I blame my neighbors for having unkept hedges overgrown with wild trees and other volunteers. I’m sure the catbirds nest there. Interestingly they leave raspberries alone. Perhaps not dark enough in color to catch their attention. They however have no problems eating all my white figs.
I find that robins are worst on strawberries
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crows are the only birds i see that eat my fruit. I’ve seen a few sparrows in my honey berries and they take a few but don’t do the damage the crows do. we are infested with them here.
Catbirds don’t like thorns. They don’t like my raspberries either.
I devoted many hours years ago to keeping Mockingbirds out of my blueberries. Discovered it’s possible but only if your net perimeter has zero gaps.
My farm is surrounded by forest.
There are an amazing amount and variety of birds here.
I see this as a sign of very healthy ecosystem.
I try to keep in mind , it’s not a bird in "my "
orchard,
but that I am trying to farm in " their " habitat.
So we share !
Just wish they would do a little more of the work part.
But really I think they do.
The bugs and stuff they eat, pays for any problems they cause , … Usually …?
That said, … Cedar wax wings, can sure put a dent in small fruit. When they come there is a bunch of them ,and can quickly finish off a cherry tree, or other small fruit.
Blue birds ,chickadees ,Wrens etc ,are good to have around, bug eaters for sure.
Placing nest boxes for them around the orchard helps a lot , I think.
They go the shortest distance to catch a bug to feed their young, so they are Allways watching if you have enough boxes
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I put out a bird house last year. Mid spring i opened it slightly to see if anyone had taken up residence- it was filled to the top with small twigs that were perfectly sized to fit!! What the heck!? @Hillbillyhort I agree, a lot of birds means less bugs. I do deep mulch and the robins love to dig for worms in my yard. Theres always birds around here. My favorite are chickadees. I am glad cedar waxwings havent found my yard! I forage serviceberries from the park but if i am there an hour after a flock of waxwings, i will be lucky to collect a handful! They’re thorough.
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A list of some insect eating birds.
https://journeynorth.org/tm/spring/InsectEaters.html
Also I generally don’t feed birds " seed" in the winter.
But I do some times feed suit and or meat.
The birds that eat suit or meat are the bug eaters, I like to keep them around.
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The only good bird is a meat eater. If the other types of birds are not eating fruit they’re pooping on my car.
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