Birds On Your Rain Gauge?
If you haven't discovered this already, birds sometimes decide to use your rain gauge for a perch and/or a porta-potty. Although a properly perched bird or two can be a great photographic opportunity, and often they leave a mess. We have seen many ideas to keep birds away from rain gauges, including stuffed cats, real cats, plastic owls, rubber snakes, and more. The new Tropo gauges come equipped with bird wires that are inserted into the edge of the funnel. If you have a Stratus gauge, probably the easiest thing to do is use tape to attach tooth picks or thin, rigid wires to the rim of the gauge about 1 to 1 ½ inches apart and sticking up about 2 inches above the rim. Here are some instructions on making the toothpick deterrent.

1. Get about a 14-inch long piece of ¾-inch duct tape. Since you won’t find duct tape in a ¾” width, you will need to rip a strip approximately that wide from a wider strip. Lay it adhesive side up on a flat surface, and fasten down each end with a small piece of tape.
2. Arrange toothpicks on the tape about 1" to 1 1/2" apart. Round toothpicks are best – they have a little more heft to them. Press the toothpicks on to the tape so they adhere.
3. When you have arranged all the toothpicks, cut the strip free on both ends, inside of where you taped it down.
4. Wrap the tape with the toothpicks around the edge of the funnel, keeping the top edge of the tape at or just below the edge of the funnel. Overlap the ends, and then press firmly all around the funnel.

Another way to keep them off of your gauge is to provide them with someplace else to perch that is higher than the top of your rain gauge. This suggestion came from one of our observers. You can put up a shepherd's hook nearby or rig up something else to give the birds a place to check out the surroundings without using your rain gauge.