Over the weekend I came upon a sweet American Robin trapped in green bird netting and fighting for it’s life. I waited several moments before approaching, hoping it would set itself free but the more the Robin struggled, the more tightly he became enmeshed. I approached cautiously so as not to stress the bird any more than it already was and was able to very carefully untwist the netting and release.

I was grateful for this easy extraction. Once before Charlotte and I had found a Robin wrapped tightly in bird netting. It took the farmer and I half an hour to carefully cut away the netting digging into the birds flesh and choking the life out of him.

Bats, birds, turtles, frogs, and small mammals all too often become entangled in the green netting draped over trees and shrubs. I could write more about the fatal attraction in planting an ornamental shrub with brilliant red bird-attracting berries, and then covering it with deadly dangerous netting, but what is the point of that?

Instead, the following are just only a few suggestions to help prevent deer browsing:

Wrap in burlap.

For new plantings, consider using individual cages. Paint white as wildlife can see that best at night. Please inspect exclosures regularly to ensure no little wild friends are trapped within.

Hang bars of the strongest smelling deodorant soap you can find, Irish Spring comes to mind.

On a positive note, the ‘winter’ Robins are here, dining on every berry in the neighborhood they can locate. One of the most joyful sights in winter is the criss crossing of Robins through our landscapes as they devour the fruits. For over a month, I have been filming them eating the following:  winterberry, which must be the tastiest as it was the first to go, sumac, crabapples, privet, rose hips, euonymus, and cedar berries.

Many, many thanks to the home owners of the hollies with the green mesh. I knocked on their door to let them know what had happened. Shortly after that, they cut away the green netting. Thank You!