Fieldfare bully

I have recently had a fieldfare take up residence in my garden, and like yours it's very very greedy and grumpy. It chases all other birds away, quite vehemently at times - it pulled a clump of feathers out of a starling on Friday. It occasionally allows smaller birds in to feed from the hanging feeders but all the rest have had it as far as it's concerned, other thrushes especially. I have taken to putting food out in other parts of the garden, back garden especially as it can't police the front and back at the same time.

Unknown said:

I have recently had a fieldfare take up residence in my garden, and like yours it's very very greedy and grumpy. It chases all other birds away, quite vehemently at times - it pulled a clump of feathers out of a starling on Friday. It occasionally allows smaller birds in to feed from the hanging feeders but all the rest have had it as far as it's concerned, other thrushes especially. I have taken to putting food out in other parts of the garden, back garden especially as it can't police the front and back at the same time.

Another vote here for spreading the food around.

I've heard quite a bit about Fieldfare being nothing short of bullies during this weather and chasing garden regulars away.  They seem to be quite a big built thrush and seem to be using that to their advantage.

Other than spreading things about there's not a lot you can do I guess.  But if he's distracted in one corner the others should be able to sneak in the other :o)

I'm having the same problem. The fieldfare is sending off all ground feeders, attacks the small birds on the feeders and even flies at any birds flying over the garden! My garden is tiny so I can't scatter food around very far, but I'll try cutting up the fruit.

Hi Alan,

I'm having the same problem with a mistle thrush, which has now earned the nick-name 'missile thrush' from my partner as it sits in a big old oak tree watching the garden and dive-bombing the blackbirds.

I used the spreading the food out technique as I have a big slope in my garden - if its feeding at the top it doesn't see the blackbirds at the bottom and vice-versa.

I cut up apples pears and cheese and put half at the top and half at the bottom - seems to work ok.

On a postive note my greenfinch flock has grown from 1 to 5 today :)

Hello Alan,

We have a solitary fieldfare that came with the snow. Oh suberb! What a hansome bird! - And in our garden too! - Our feelings towards the first fieldfare we had ever seen in our small urban garden rapidly turned sour when we saw that rather than a winter visitor he was in fact a foreign dictator.  Asserting himself as "Der Garten Meister" he wasted no time in expelling and excluding all other thrush-type birds from his newly aquired demesne.  The blackbirds, quite a lot of them at the moment, try to sneak in while he's looking the other way, but they do well to get at quick jab at an apple. He is here at first light and departs at dusk. When not feeding (alone) he stands guard over all the food from a vantage point in the birch or on the boundary fence. From there he can defend the entire garden and all the food it contains. (You thought squirrels were bad news?)

As far as we can see there are only two solutions; either stop using apples as bird-feed, so that he goes elsewhere, or wait until all the other members of his flock catch up with him and see what he does then ha ha!