i think it's so funny that businesses keep selling fake owls etc. as bird deterrents and people keep buying them because it's one of those things that very simply Does Not Work but everyone just keeps trying and hoping. birds may be momentarily alert to a predator decoy, but they very quickly surmise that the decoy is not a threat, because the decoy does not kill anything. even if the decoy had moving parts, even if it hooted like a real owl, the birds would figure out in days that there was no credible threat, no follow-through. birds will gather where there are attractive resources. even if real owls are there occasionally hunting them. even if dogs and kids chase them. even if humans throw things at them.
yet every day people pay 23 dollars for a fake owl. and they hope. a false idol of protection. perhaps it is more the symbol of the owl that people purchase at this point. maybe it's just become familiar, even nostalgic, decor.
