- Author: Launa Herrmann
Published on: April 15, 2021
I enjoy birds inhabiting my backyard. Also, I like the natural look of Coir fiber lining hanging baskets and the wire planters mounted along my wooden fence. Commonly known as coconut fiber, this material is extracted from the hard outer husks of coconuts, with India and Sri Lanka fulfilling over 90% of the world's demand. Coconut fiber is used not only for pot liners but to make brooms and brushes, ropes, and floor mats; to stuff car seats and mattresses; and to control soil erosion.
Its rot-resistant fiber, when used as a pot liner, provides plants with good drainage and air circulation. But for me, there is an observable downside — these durable liners seldom survive Blue Jays. Instead, the coconut fiber provided the Jays easily accessible nesting material.
In just a couple of seasons, my fiber-lined planters took a beating as nests appeared in a side yard orange tree. Amazed I stood at a window watching Coir threads being pulled out by these beaked thieves, who one flight at a time deposited their stash into the waiting branches. The photographs below tell the planter's tale.
Eventually, as the finches frequenting my bird feeder became prey and the doves and Quail no longer walked the fence, I knew the time had come to defeat the ambitious Blue Jays.
The fix was simple. Out with the natural look of coconut fiber. In with the PVC. Once again I'm enjoying a variety of birds inhabiting my backyard. Here's a look at the window box planters along the fence.
For more information on coconut fiber including photographs, charts, and scientific data, visit https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/coconut-fiber
Comments:
by Howard Fitzpatrick
on April 17, 2021 at 6:55 AM
Yes, Scrub Jays are a true obnoxious pest. They plant Oak trees where you don't want them and are notorious nest robbers. Glad you got them to move along.
by Catalin
on April 20, 2021 at 4:01 PM
California Scrub Jays are common and native here (Blue Jays are rare here in the west). They are members of the corvid family and very clever! If they were nesting in my yard, I'd enjoy watching them raise their young.
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