Beware the birds

We are blessed with a wonderful range of bird life in KwaZulu Natal. From the common lbj's, (little brown jobs) to the majestic crested eagles, the rare blue crane, sassy mynahs, and surely the loudest bird on the planet, the hadeda. No doubt they bring joy to twitchers but car owners beware, the birds.
They have one thing in common, and that is how bad their droppings can be for your beloved car's paint work. The fact that there are thousands of google results for bird poop is bad enough, let alone that so many relate to damage to cars paintjobs. Since birds don't do number one or number two but combine it, lets call it number three, it is very acidic, which eats away at paintwork if left on for any length of time. Some websites say 24 hours is enough time for the damage to be done and for the droppings to be permanently "etched" on to the paint surface. Not at all the kind if etchings we would want to keep.
The best advice is to get it off the car as soon as possible, with tissue soaked in water, or spray with fizzy water to get it moving. If you scrape it off without water you risk scratching the paint. Unfortunately most of us leave it until the next carwash, and even high pressure hoses are no match for these stubborn stains.
On such hot days we beeline for shady parking spots, under trees or in the shade of a building, which is where birds lurk waiting to send some luck our way. And if we needed any further proof that we live in a crazy world then the fact that some incredibly enterprising people are maketing bird droppings as a facial really says it all. Fantastic idea, just not on my car please.