Hi,
I'm new at this brd feeding and watching so please bear with me. We have erected a bird feeding station which has hanging feeders with peanuts, sunflower hearts, coconut suet, suet balls. We also have a bird table with table mix seeds. All fine, bluetits, goldfinches,greenfinches, sparrows and robins all enjoying the feast - until the table food vanished and blame was laid at the door of the pigeons. I stuck modified bird spikes on it and this definitely stopped the pigeons ( I have video proving this) BUT the food still vanished! I eventually found out it was crows actaully getting in between the spikes which are 2.5" apart.
Before I go any further with experimenting can any one suggest a deterrent such as closer spikes, mesh etc which will allow the smaller birds access but stop pigeons, doves and crows?
Here is a picture of the current problem
Many thanks for reading and your help
David
Think about foods that the crows wont eat ... probably this is only niger seeds
Second is to protection that will allow smaller birdies in and larger out ... similar to an anit-vermin cage.
Buy feeders that the crows cant access ... there are plenty on the market.
But maybe the most obvious is to provide food for all birds ... if you flood the place with crow friendly foods ... eggs, bread and the like ... they will probably leave the pea nuts and sunflower seeds to their smaller cousins.
All good BUT
The feeders with cages don't work very well the crows can get in (see reviews on RSPB site).
Place is too small to flood with food
Crows are hanging on the coconut and eating it and also dismounting it to feed on the ground. They also get into the suet ball feeder. They are very resourceful.
I'm looking for a deterrent for the table better than my spikes or closer spikes. Any suggestions on diemnsions?
Hi David,
You could use something like I have (as shown above). This is a fixed pvc coated galvanised mesh, that I purchased from Homebase. Alternatively, you can get a plastic version which tends to be supplied rolled up. That will prevent anything larger than a Starling from gaining entry to the bird house feeder. I would be inclined to remove those spikes though. You should be getting fledglings in your garden soon and they will be less adept at flying and more importantly, landing, so it would be best to remove them, just in case. If you are feeling adventurous, you could always construct a large enclosure, much as I have done and then the Pigeons and Crows will be unable to gain entry at all. Hope this helps.
The area to the left is what I call the SBS (Small Bird Sanctuary). It was primarily constructed to create an area that would keep the smaller birds safe from Sparrowhawk attacks, but it also keeps out the Ferals (I don't get Crows in the garden now that the garage has been dismantled).
Unicum arbustum haud alit duos erithacos
(One bush does not shelter two Robins)
Zenodotus (3rd Century B.C.)
Hi David, In our garden we have dozens of Corvids (Crows, Jackdaws, Jays, Magpies) along with the smaller garden birds and I have the pitched roof type guardian cage set to the narrowest slider gauge setting - it does keep Blackbird and larger sized birds out although a baby squirrel has managed to get in. If you don't have squirrels then this will definitely keep the Crows out. I placed the guardian (only pitched roof type will work) on bricks, added a slate base and put a feeder dish inside with a piece of heavy duty rubber pond liner draped over the roof to keep the rain off the seeds; it works extremely well. I have an old picture of the cage as I have set it up .... the majority of smaller birds will use this guardian and have the seeds, mealworms to themselves.
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Regards, Hazel
That would appear solve the problem but it is a tad overkill - I'm sure the household management would not approve! The mesh looks good though and I may be able to adapt it.
Thanks
That's a good idea I can adpat as well - just how large did you make the squares?
It's not for the faint hearted! Luckily I have the place to myself (apart from my feathered friends), so a large structure like that is not an issue. I'm sure you will be able to adapt some mesh to suit your needs.
For fear of repeating myself there are loads of feeders on sale that deter crows ... just google "crow proof bird feeder" but you will have to shell out a few quid.
Yes, I'm looking into that now as well as some glavanished PVC coated mesh to protect the table
UPDATE Following the hints & tips I found here I purchased a sheet of pvc coated mesh (50mm squares) from Apollo Garden Products and two Gardman hanging baskets. The mesh I wired to the bird table and the hanging baskets were made into a 'globe' surround for the suet feeder. Total success! The crows etc can't get into either but the smaller birds can and love it.
Thanks all