http://www.lookourway.com/air-ranger/
@Olpea, @blueberrythrill what do you guys think? Entry price is reasonable. We have terrible issues here with grackles (a retaliative of crows). They force us to either pick early or net. Generally we have blocks of trees that are ripening at one time, not a whole orchard. If this covered a 25’ x 25 ft area effectively for 7-10 days it would be worth having for us.
Might double to draw in customers when holding a market too. 
Interesting idea. I’d be interested in hearing if any forum members have tried this, how well it worked, and what the details were (spacing, which bird species, hoe long til the birds became accustom to it, etc).
I suspect on is going to need AC and a fan/blower motor out where this thing is setup, but a long extension cord and the needed gear still makes this a cheap solution to the bird problem, if it works.
LOL. I think they might do a decent job of repelling birds, and customers too, lol.
Seriously though, I bet they have enough movement to scare birds. It reminds me of a scare crow in the 21st century.
In the old fruit forum there was someone who claimed hanging a fake owl from a tree w/ fishing line (so it would swing) would thoroughly scare birds. I wonder if fake owls might work better than fake people. Around here, grackles aren’t all that much afraid of people.
That’s about all I can offer Amadio. If you do choose to go with the waving man, please let me know the results.
I might have to modify the pointed teeth if I put it out front to attract customers in. lol Although the teeth might get people to really look.
Looks good to me. Wonder how it works on squirrels.
Randomness counts: critturs are given to establishing patterns and doing things habitually, and until they establish routines they distrust unpredictable things. I’ve noticed that behavior in birds, squirrels, and deer, in the city, and elk are said to revisit their favorite places every third day if not pressed.
So I think it might help discourage animals from getting comfortable with your place. Might be worth a try. But would it be possible to make it discouraging to animals and attractive to people at the same time? Boy, but that thing sure got hit with an ugly stick, didn’t it?
Good luck,
M
Amadioranch. There are many agricultural tree and nursery farms (hydrangea and landscaping plants. trees, and blueberries) here in RI but they are in the town (Middletown) next door to Newport. I stopped my car last week by the side of the road, as one of the larger growers, had a fake hawk on the end of a tremendously large wire that circled above his fields. Not a bird in sight. I could not tell if the bird was plastic or not. It was just very realistic. Just a thought.
I use a smaller, less expensive version called “Air Crow” on my blueberries. It works great on the Robins which destroy my blueberries if not controlled. The Air Crow is smaller and uses a smaller motor which makes getting electricity to it from a distant source a little easier. I ran 250 feet of underground 12 gage wire to a GFI outlet at the deer fence and then use several heavy gage extension cords to cover the blueberries. Many years ago we pulled a 1 acre net over the blueberry each spring and removed it every fall. The Air Crow does not work as well as the net, but its a lot easier!
This is an interesting thread. I found this promo video on youtube for the these types of “dancing man” ballons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slpkufp2B_U
These types of ballons may finally be an economical means of protecting fruit crops from birds.
Car dealerships use these to get the attention of customers. (In our area).
Hilarious! They even covered crop protection. lol