(First published in David’s Monthly column in the Valley Voice Magazine)

On a rare trip away from the Plant Centre one weekend a text comes through to my phone from our weekend plantsman Barry. “I’ve noticed that since we have had the sculpture of the ‘Kea on a Scythe’ in the Plant Centre that there has been very little bird life in the shop.”

Barry has worked for us for almost ten years now, and I respect his observations and opinions on a number of subjects, ranging from the pros and cons of planting Griselinia to the best fishing spots on the Kaipara Harbour.

I regularly implement Barry’s ideas and observations, but in this case I did have to wonder whether I may have to keep a closer eye on him in the future. With his partner overseas for several months, I thought he may be suffering from ‘Single Mans Psychosis’, a condition males sometimes develop when they have to feed and fend for themselves. With no-one at home to say ‘Get a grip’, or, ‘Go outside and trim the hedge’, he possibly may have started to think a bit too deeply about things most people wouldn’t even notice.  After all, what living breathing winged bird would care about a man-made hunk of steel and carved wood.  

The following weekend Barry tried some experiments. The ‘Kea on a Scythe’ sculpture was covered with a box. The birds flocked around the shop.  The following day the sculpture was left uncovered. The birds were nowhere to be seen, but could be heard in other parts of the gardens.

I have to admit I was still a bit skeptical. The real test would be when our ‘Tui Tree’ started flowering. This remarkable tree is for birds like carrots in the vegetable patch are to rabbits. When in flower we get up to 10 Tuis feeding on the flowers and bickering and fighting like a bunch of siblings on a wet day indoors.

It wasn’t long before I suggested a wager to Barry. I would either end up buying him a box of chocolates and saying ‘you were right’, or if proved wrong he would get himself a pet dog so he wasn’t spending so much time alone.

Within the week the Tui tree went from wintery sticks to a wonderful display of crimson colour. Barry covered ‘Kea on a Scythe’, and our customers were rewarded with dazzling aerobatic displays from the fighter jet Tuis, with the odd Wood Pigeon bomber lumbering along amongst them. 

The smaller Tui trees for sale in the Plant Centre sold well that day.

The following day Barry removed the cover, and we watched for what would happen. Not a bird in sight. 

No Tui tree sales.

And so I had to admit that Barry was right.

Keas did have a bit of a bad reputation with high country farmers – with well documented evidence of them attacking and eating sheep, and for many years there was a government bounty for hunters on them. They also are known to eat other birds.  The scythe is a symbol of death since medieval times, with images of the Grim Reaper carrying a scythe dating back to the 14th century.

 Combine the two together, and we have possibly discovered the answer to birds attacking your orchard fruit in the summer.