Problems with my whirly decoy

My whirly seems to be scaring the pigeons off..! Andy Crow replies

Q: I have been really struggling with my whirly recently. Instead of attracting pigeons, it seems to be putting them off – what am I doing wrong?

ANDY CROW replies: This is not uncommon. Pigeons see a lot of rotary machines these days and some will associate them with danger, or it could be that the light might be reflecting off the metal arms and ‘flashing’ at approaching pigeons, scaring them off.

I like to tape up the arms of my whirlies to avoid this, and if birds are flaring off then I’ll switch it off and maybe try a flapper instead.

On a good day, whirlies can still be a fantastic addition to your armoury so don’t be disheartened.