Paul,

Not sure what to suggest, TSP or actone followed by wax. Someone else may have a better idea

Comerant should be cooked in a slow oven, pour a little burgandy in the pan to mellow the gaminess, wild rice and carrots will go well with this.

Your photo doesn't look like a cormorant to me, but maybe they're different down under.

Where is the cormorant parked when it causes this problem? On the spreader? On the windex? Seems to me a little preventive cure would be better than cleaning up the mess afterwards. Can you tie a terrier up there? Train a hawk as a guard bird? Adapt the zapper of an electric fence - no, just kidding about this idea. Pray for a lightning strike?

Maybe place plastic spikes like we occasionally see over here that are designed to keep birds off of structures.

Hi Paul:

If the osprey tends to scare off other birds, perhaps you can find a "plastic" replica and hoist it on your halyard up to the spreaders so it looks like it is perched there. Just a thought as some folks up here use plastic owl replicas for the same purpose.

Tom has a good idea. Here's a photo of one I saw at a marina in Olympia, Washington that looks to be effective.

Larry,

Is that a spotted owl?

In the US, there is a paste like product intended to give roosting birds a "hot foot".

Not sure how effective it is, but thought it worth mentioning in case a product like this is also used in your parts.

We have also used a spike type product, but that might be difficult to install.

With flocks of starlings and crows, it is effective to disrupt the roosting time period with loud noises, such a sirens, air horns, or banging pots and pans. If you do this consistently at that right time of the evening, it can encourage the birds to move somewhere else.

We have used all of these in our schools to cut down on bird problems.

Ah, the things I have learned about pest control! Today, a colleague brought me cockroaches on a glue trap.

Try McGuires nonskid cleaner comes in a blue spray bottle.
Had my boat stored in yard next to a rail yard that moved a lot of scrap metal, needles to say everything on the deck turned brownish color. This was the only thing that would work. Ive used it to remove seagull and goose crap also

I know of a sailer that would sprinkle a large smelly stink boat with bread crumbs every morning. It encouraged the birds to roost on the stink boat.

I am not endorsing this practice, but it is another solution:D

If the birds are roosting on your spreaders, I once read that you can keep them from doing so by stringing a piece of fishing line from the shroud to the mast a couple inches above the spreader. It keeps the bird from being able to balance itself over it's feet as it's chest will hit the fishing line.

Top of the mast is a whole other problem.

My main problem is purple martins, which sit on the lifelines and the jib sheets. I've seen people do the fishing line trick with little plastic things made for that purpose; clip on the lifelines. Seems like a lot of trouble.

Is the culprit really on the mast or on the spreaders?

We had a big problem with Cormerants on the spreaders, never saw one on the mast head though Ospreys do seem to like mast heads, particularly on Bennetas (sp?).

The best solution was to fasten a "U" fitting to the mast about 6" above the spreader, then run heavy fishing line ( 80 pd tst) from that "U" fitting to the stay running up in three layers at an increasing angle. This keeps them from landing on the spreader. Some people use seizing wire, which last longer, but I was concerned about the jib rubbing against any loose ends so went with the monofiliment and it works great with no in-season maintenance.

Put the bloody tea away and have some damned coffee, it will wake you up and you won't be stumbling around spilling your tea.

Or switch to chamomile.

There is a beverage called a 'Long Island Iced Tea,' which if you happen to spill it on your deck, will likely not leave a stain at all. I say this because you will be on your knees slurping it off the deck rather than waste it.

And the reason they invented white wine was to remove red wine stains in the cockpit...