Doves are commonly observed perched on or watching bird feeders from a distance, pretending to be interested but never actually feeding at the feeders.
Doves, like many other birds, may visit a bird feeder in search of the seeds they naturally find while foraging. Doves will try to use small compact feeders, but they are typically unsuccessful. However, doves will successfully use open top platform feeders. Ground bird feeders are required, as well as a substantial quantity of bird seed.
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Doves will eat from bird feeders because they provide a source of the seeds that make up a significant portion of their natural diet.
Wild doves eat a wide variety of seeds, thus feeders full of seeds will likely be targeted by this bird species.
Doves aren’t the most nimble of birds, therefore they typically behave like awkward, plodding movers that have trouble reaching bird feeders.
Make sure doves have access to bird feeders by upgrading to those with open platforms on top.
Mourning doves and common ground doves can be attracted to bird feeders by placing them in a well-lit area that is free of obstacles that could impede the birds’ flight, such as branches or other low-lying vegetation.
People tend to avoid attracting doves and their close relative the pigeon to bird feeders because they are large birds that are often seen raiding all types of bird feeders and, because of their larger size, are also likely to eat more, resulting in more frequent sightings of bird feces on and around the feeders.
Doves are frequent backyard birds, making it possible to enjoy feeding birds despite the species being highly unlikely to successfully access the meal within a bird feeder due to their size or inability to coordinate their movements.
Doves desperate to eat off bird feeders
The question of whether or not doves would eat from a bird feeder is less of an issue than when they will.
Doves, such as the Mourning Dove and the Common Ground Dove, will try to feed from any bird feeder in your yard, but their small size will usually prevent them from succeeding.
Bird feeders may provide a much-needed source of dove-safe seeds, which is why you can count on doves to at least try and feed from them.
It’s important to get rid of the feeders that are difficult to access and replace them with ones that are accessible to all birds if you want the doves that visit your yard regularly to feed from your feeder.
Never forget that doves are big, awkward, and lack any sort of agility, so they can’t land on a perch that’s too short or has too little space between it and the ground.
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Doves can land on open platform bird feeders, but they are much less likely to land on feeders that are hanging from a branch or pole and will instead investigate them from a distance.
Clumsily perch on compact feeders
Feeding smaller birds at feeders while discouraging larger birds like doves from eating the seed would necessitate the use of compact, specialized feeders.
To be fair, they weren’t made for that purpose, but they do provide a necessary food source that can keep smaller, friendlier birds in an area while discouraging larger birds, which many people view as a nuisance, much like pigeons.
You may count on doves to do what they can only by clumsily perching on compact feeders, despite the fact that it is difficult for any kind of dove to perch on a feeder designed for little birds exclusively.
The dove or common pigeon isn’t built to delicately perch while feeding, as you might expect from its size and girth. Doves can only sit on a perch and eat, so they have to find a spot that’s easy to land on.
Doves will eat from a bird feeder, but you may want to consider if this is a desirable occurrence or an undesirable one.
Keeping doves away from bird feeders is easiest accomplished by maintaining the usage of tiny, compact feeders packed with seed.
Doves can only be spotted eating from bird feeders if they have an open top, thus this is the only type of feeder you should buy.
Open platforms suitable options
For the most part, open platform bird feeders are where you’ll find doves wanting to feed.
A bird feeder is a wooden platform, typically elevated no more than three feet from the ground, upon which people sprinkle various types of food for wild birds.
Since doves prefer to perch on top of a stable platform while feeding at bird feeders, you’ll need a platform feeder on a stand.
Doves are ground feeders, thus an open platform on the ground is preferable to a hanging platform, which can be too limiting for the average backyard dove.
Please place a variety of wild bird seeds on top of these platform bird feeders and place them in a public place where the larger doves and pigeons can securely perch to eat without being disturbed.
Doves may or may not try to eat from your platform bird feeder, but they will try to eat from little hanging bird feeders that can be filled with seed mixes.
Will eat seed on ground feeder
Doves will eat from bird feeders, provided that the feeder offers a variety of wild bird seeds.
Given that several species of doves, including the Common Ground Dove, the Inca Dove, the Mourning Dove, and the Spotted Dove, may visit your yard and your feeders in search of food, it’s crucial to provide them with the food they require.
Doves are a common sight in backyards, and the most common type of dove eats a variety of seeds.
Then you can expect to see doves at your bird feeders, but keep in mind that the open-top platform feeders can only be refilled with seeds if you want to keep them coming back.
Seed mixes, sunflower seeds, and safflower seeds are all good options, but doves can eat just about everything. Doves will consume cracked corn if provided with it.
The best approach to feed doves in your yard is to put out a variety of seeds and broken corn on the ground.
Doves will eat seeds directly off the ground, as they were designed to do in the wild, but they can also be fed from a ground bird feeder.
Summary
Doves come to bird feeders to eat typical bird seed mixtures since seeds make up 99 percent of their diet.
Doves need as much food, if not more, than smaller backyard birds, therefore they will do all they can to get their beaks on seed mixes. As a result, all doves will attempt to steal from your feeders, despite the fact that they usually have trouble doing so.
The large, awkward doves that might wish to feed at a bird feeder might have a hard time doing so.
A modest, compact hanging seed bird feeder is all that is required if you don’t want to attract doves since you find them to be a nuisance.
If you want to attract and keep doves in your yard, one solution is to provide them with food in the form of bird feeders. However, the sort of feeders you use may need to be modified to make doves more likely to utilize them.
Open-topped platform bird feeders are replacing the inefficient hanging seed feeders.
Doves will appreciate the open top, but for stability and accessibility, a platform feeder mounted to a stand is your best bet. If you had a comparable hanging platform bird feeder, the doves would have a hard time landing because of their large wingspan.
Doves are ground-feeding birds, so a feeder that scatters wild seed blends on the ground and attracts doves makes the most sense.
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Category: Birds
