Plastic bird - camera or bird deterrent?

[Birdahoy]

So I quite like birds, being of ‘that age’. But…

We live in an enclosed block and our garden is surrounded on all sides at varying levels. So we’re quite overlooked but I don’t think anyone is actually looking because frankly they wouldn’t see much beyond a bit of weeding and drinking tea.

The neighbour who has the terrace at the end of our garden (but a couple of stories up - so their terrace is higher than our upstairs) has installed a sort of ugly plastic bird hanging over the edge of their terrace.

It can’t be decorative because they wouldn’t be able to see it. I’d like to assume that it’s to scare off birds but if so it’s 100% ineffective as two doves are fighting about a foot from it as I type.

And…. It has a wire coming out of its bottom. Do birds have bottoms? Well this thing is wired up. Is it a disguised camera? It can probably see straight into our bedroom if so which is my worry. It must be about 10m ‘as the crow flies’ - ironic - from our bedroom window.

Can’t find this thing anywhere online to check for myself what it does so wondered if any of you might have any ideas. In the meantime I’m off for a closer look with the binoculars.

Oh, and before anybody asks why it looks like I live on an industrial estate, we’re not in the uk and it’s a very typical building ‘finish’ here 😂

I wonder if its a pretend bird to keep other birds away from a balcony?

it is a fake hawk to scare away pigeons - i've seen similar fake owls too.

But the wires?! I wonder if it’s to make convincing bird noises?!

You can get robot ones that move. Google them.

Saying that, that does not look like a robot one, it just looks like a standard one. The pedestal looks similar to the ones you can buy in the UK.

Maybe watch it and see whether its head moves from time to time.

Or maybe it has a hawk cry built in or something.

Thanks! Will listen!

I think it is the kind that is sold as a bird deterrent. I don't think it is a camera, if that is what is concerning for you. Perhaps the wire was there before and is attached not to the bird but to the metal structure it has been plonked on?

I have a silhouette of a bird of prey stuck on my bedroom window to stop housemartins nesting there (they kept building a nest right near the only openable window in my bedroom with the result that every year nestfuls of adolescent birds would come in and fly around). So I can imagine someone plonking a plastic kestrel to try and solve a similar issue (even if the doves look less than terrified!).

Just googled and apparently they are also purchased to scare away mice etc. Would that make any sense in your location?

We have a similar one at our school. It's a bird scarer.