I may have four species of pigeon visiting my garden: wood pigeon, collared dove, feral pigion, and a pair of what may be stoock doves - or a matching pair of very plain feral pigions! Nothing against pigeons - wonderful birds - but they do eat a lot, and they do bully the smaller birds.
So I had a plan. I bought some wire hanging baskets. The holes are big enough to let a small bird through, but way too small for a pgeon.
I left one inverted on the path with some seed underneath it. I carefully hung the other over the wire feeder tray on the feeding station, with a gap underneath, big enough for a small bird.
Success! The pigeons couldn't get at the seed.
Failure! The small birds left the seed!
On the plus side, I had a lovely sighting of a wren this evening, standing on the neighbour's fence. (The wren, not me.)
Well Diogenes, that was an innovative idea. I (and others on this forum) splashed out on a guardian feeder to deter starlings. It worked. The starlings cling on the outside for dear life, looking longingly at the mealworms and suet pellets inside the little dish, but can't get in. Nothing else is remotely interested. A couple of sparrows had a go but gave up. The only visitor has been a single robin on a grab and go mission - too worried about it to linger longer.
I also had a strike as regards feeding my feral pigeons today. They cleared the bird table completely. I would have refilled it but they were all congregating on next door's extension roof, waiting for me to do just that. I told them to clear up the mess on the ground before they got anything else from me! Trouble being the jackdaws wanted their lunch as well, but had to go without today. The pigeons waited at least half an hour for me before disapearing elsewhere.
Well done for spotting the wren.
Cheers, Linda.
See my photos on Flickr
We must all be getting fed up with the pigeons, I have very few birds really, but do have in total about 30 pigeons of the three main types and they can clear a bird table i minutes. I have also told them they need to clear up any ground seed before they get any more from me.
Still nothing in my guardian feeder that I have now put on the ground, hoping the robins that mainly feed there may go in. Two robins did come into the garden after 6 tonight but it was too dark to see where they went.
Well done for your wren. I have not see mine this week at all, or my finches or woodpecker!!
Sarah
I've learned that I still have a lot to learn...
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I have not yet bought one of those guardian feeders (the one that costs nearly £30) and I don't think I will now as it seems the birds don't like them very much. I am sorry your idea didn't work, Diogenes, as it was very innovative. Well done on spotting the wren, by the way. Pity you had to dispel my illusions about you standing on the fence though. LOL
The necessity of bird-watching is a really good reason for avoiding all forms of housework.
The dust will still be there tomorrow - the birds may not be!
Are we talking about the guardian feeders that hang, or the cage thingies that you put on the ground?
I was thinking of getting a cage, as the magpies have suddenly taken an interest in the mealworms. But I wasn't sure (a) whether the holes would be big enough for blackbirds and thrushes to get through; and (b) whether anything would trust it.
Any ideas?
My pigeons are multiplying too, I've just had to replace the bowl I have on top of my wall as the pigeons think they are so small and dainty that they have to perch on the side of it, this has the effect of standing on a rake, the bowl flips up and hits them in the chest and the food goes everywhere, all the other birds even the little blue tits manage to stand on the wall and reach over to take some food without perching on the side of the bowl so why the pigeons don't I don't know, I've now got a heavier metal ground feeder up there now which they can perch on to their hearts content without it tipping.
There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed.
Unknown said: the pigeons think they are so small and dainty that they have to perch on the side of it, this has the effect of standing on a rake, the bowl flips up and hits them in the chest and the food goes everywhere,
LOL, literally. Really cheered me up. Nothing against pigeons, you understand, but they're such pompous birds that the image is hilarious.
They certainly are, luckily for me they only eat from the feeder I have on top of my wall, so I now fill it with a bit of seed and bulk it out with oats only, 1kg bags from the supermarket nice and cheap, then all the more expensive morsels go on my birdtables, one of which is a very small hanging one, which the pigeons would never be able to fit in.
If I were you, Diogenes, I'd be a bit careful about laughing at the pigeons.
Remember that we are all still imagining you trying to balance on your neighbour's fence! :-)
BB
I do wish there was a "Thelwell" type on here as cartoon drawings of some of our narratives (whether the actual or the image conjured up in the mind) would be brilliant!!!
I've had a good laugh this morning at the pigeon stories, and a cartoon strip would be great!
My ferals and collared doves use my small mesh trays that are attached to fences once the table has been cleared. I took this picture yesterday. The dove sat there waiting for his mate to arrive, looking for all the world as though he is sitting on a loo. I emptied the tray after he left! I only have one wood pigeon thank goodness, and this is the only feeder he will use. He always tips it sideways, covering himself in seed, but the doves are a bit more graceful.