Old Gardener, Thanks for the interesting article reference. I think I will try the sugar water method next year. Not mentioned before is that I have been using rows of PVC hoop houses to prevent bird damage, but that has been a lot of work and it gets harder for me to do that. This week, I installed a rectangular cage around my cultivated beach plums just starting to ripen. I think the rectangular cage may be easier to work with than the hoop houses. Eventually I want to build a netted enclosure large enough for me to work in but that is some time away.
One other thing not mentioned in the article is that prior to laying eggs, I will remove robin nests from trees in the area when I can find them. I won't bother the ones with eggs - too soft-hearted for that, I guess, but an unoccupied robin nest is fair game.
