Aggressive Thrush

Hello everyone - this is my first post but I had to read this twice because I have had exactly the same thing happening in my garden and it is a thrush (not sure whether song or mistle but think its mistle). I was delighted when I first spotted this bird eating the berries off my rowan tree just b4 Christmas BUT the longer he has stayed the more aggressive he has become, infact he spends more time fighting off the other birds than eating. I have had Fieldfares in the garden trying to eat and he chases these too. I feel very sorry for my resident Blackbird, who cant even get a drink from the birdbath.

Katie1983 said:

For the last 2 to 3 days there has been a new addition to our garden, a song thrush. However since he/.she has arrived he/she has scared all the birds away including wood pigeons, blue tits, sparrows, Starlings and robins. We have different feeding points around the garden but this thrush will not let any bird go on any feeder or even sit on a near by fence. As soon as another bird appears the thrush will be very aggresive and fly at them repeated until they leave. The thrush sits there for hours and never leaves the garden guarding it from all birds. Is there any one who has had this?? I feel sorry for all the regular birds who can no longer come on to the feeders

 

Any advice!?

Hello Katie, I haven't read all the replys. I'm too busy dashing out to my garden to shoo away a Thrush like bird which turns out to be a Mistle Thrush. It's chasing off all the other birds who are trying to get to the food. But the most awful moment was when I saw it attacking a 'Song Thrush.' Smaller and slimmer but just as hungry! Well, the Mistle Thrush had the Song Thrush down on the ground trying to kill it. Really aggressive. I got my broom that time! The other bird was okay and has tried to return, only again to be attacked by the big bully! The Blackbirds, which are always regular visiters and beautiful singers in the spring are also getting the send off. This big thrush only arrived about 6 days ago. I understand they have a lovely song but what a bully. Someone said it was a Fieldfare but they fly in flocks. This is definately a Mistle Thrush and he is the only bird in the garden at the moment, sitting there ready for attack. Really annoying because I usually have loads of other birds, all getting on very nicely together. What can one do?

I personally think the agression between species it just a part of nature that we will just have to accept in our gardens.  By attracting so many birds down to a relatively small area it is difficult to not have conflict between species whether blue tit and great tit, goldfinch or greenfinch, blackbird or thrush or between members of the same species.  We can minimise  the chances by spreading food about and using a variety of feeding methods that better suit one species rather than the other, but we can't remove the competition altogether it is a part of bird feeding - and a part of the birds lives - that we will just have to accept.  It may be difficult, but it is easy for us to put our negative views on the "bully" when no wild bird is a bully, they are simply doing all they can to ensure that they survive.  Life is difficult for all wild birds, they don't know where the next meal is coming from, they don't know that there will be food the next day so they have to fight for what they can get.  Birds have adjusted to this competition aspect of their lives long before we started feeding them, birds such as coal tits for example build up little caches of food hidden away in places where they can eat in peace rather than battle it out around the feeding grounds.  As with sparrowhawks, this is natural and is a part of life and I personally feel it is out of our control to stop something from happening - we can reduce the risk but if that fails there is little to be done and it is one battle the birds will have to fight for themselves.  There will be other places for the birds to find food, if they are totally dependant on just a single garden then personally I think there are far bigger problems than one bird dominating the feeders!

And this is where wildlife gardening comes in, feeding the birds is one thing but by trying to ensure a natural food source by planting suitable trees, shrubs and plants this enables birds to seek out natural food sources such as berries for the thrushes and insects buried in the bark for the tits.  Garden feeding stations, though not intentional, are competitive places by their very nature as we can't produce the same diversity of feeding as what nature does.  Just watch a mixed flock of birds in the trees - you can get blue tits, coal tits, great tits, treecreepers and goldcrests all feeding in the same tree but they aren't focused on one single branch, they are spread out across the branches each having to search for themselves and there is little fighting because there are all having to search for their food, it isn't hanging from a feeder with easy access where a number of birds want to go at the same time.

No matter how much we may want our birds to be living in harmony with each other, that is never going to happen.  There will always be fighting and there will always be some birds that are kept away from the feeders by another or their own species.  This is nature at work and no matter how much food we provide, that is the way it will be.

ABitInterested said:

I took this pic today in my garden - This is the bully that has chased away all of the other wildlife in my garden. Is this the Fieldfare?

I'm sure this is a Mistle Thrush. They do look alike but Fieldfares seem to stick together. The one in my garden is very definately alone and even though I have feeding stations in different places he manages to keep the other birds off each one. He wont let an ordinary thrush anywhere near, nor the Blackbirds. He attacks them with venom. I know it's nature and survival of the fittest, but there is plenty food for all. He is quite beautiful but I'll be glad when he goes back to the woods!

Hi KatTai,

May I congratulate you on a beautifully written and sensibly argued post.

Susan H said:

Hi KatTai,

May I congratulate you on a beautifully written and sensibly argued post.

Thank you very much :-)