While it’s true that bird feeders will always attract pigeons, there are strategies to ensure that only little songbirds benefit from them.
Little birds can be fed from a bird feeder hung on a sturdy pole or a nearby tree branch. By default, pigeons can’t use these feeders however they mustn’t be next to perches or pigeons can reach over to feed. Pack away open feeders while offering a pigeon or two alone, their own seeds if you must.
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There may be a problem with pigeons consuming all the bird food because it is now too exposed.
Pigeons will have little difficulty raiding bird feeders which typically ends in failure, however pigeons can succeed at times if bird food is made available in unguarded feeders.
Similarly, pigeons will steal bird food made available in any open bird feeder dishes or mounted trays. Therefore, you should get rid of open feeders and instead use only small, compact bird feeders, which the pigeons will not be able to reach if you hang them in a strategic location.
How you’d feed most tiny birds is in a bird feeder placed off a pole or branch, which will be adequate to dissuade pigeons even if it involves shifting the feeders about, until you locate the most effective area.
Not all birds enjoy to or can’t use bird feeders hence a ground feeder might be wrapped in a cage – to keep pigeons out but allow small birds to go through the holes.
Although it is possible to squirrel-proof bird feeders, doing so is unnecessary as pigeons cannot land on the perch of a feeder designed for smaller birds.
The common Rock Pigeon will try to use a hanging bird feeder, but as you may know, they will always fail.
If pigeons are persistently driving away your tiny birds, you might try luring them away from the area by placing a dish of bird seed in a different part of your yard.
Success on enclosed feeders
By relying solely on small bird feeders, you may ensure that only your most common small songbirds are being fed, while preventing the simultaneous feeding of nuisance pigeons.
There is no need to worry about pigeons getting into your feeders if you use small, hanging feeders because they will avoid them.
Particularly effective are seed bird feeders, which typically take the form of a long clear tube with two or more perches projecting at regular intervals.
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Larger birds like pigeons and doves won’t be able to get into the feeder this manner because they lack the finesse required to perch on such a small platform.
I will remark that if you want to keep tiny birds at your feeders while discouraging pigeons, you will be limited in your choice of bird food and feeders.
In spite of the fact that pigeons are welcome at large seed feeders, you can keep them out of your backyard by using a tiny seed feeder, which is preferred by the vast majority of common backyard birds.
Utilize ‘Squirrel Proof’ type feeders
It may be necessary to make a further investment if you want to pigeon-proof your current bird feeders, which are being frequented by pigeons.
It’s possible that a squirrel proof cage designed for a different brand of seed, nut, or suet feeder won’t fit your older feeder.
Invulnerable to rodents such as squirrels I’m aware of this, but there’s no need to fret; any squirrel proof bird feeder can easily dislodge pigeons or other large birds trying to feast on the feeder’s contents.
Pigeons will always find a way to land on your bird feeder, but a squirrel proof feeder will ensure they remain on the outside.
Keep your old, vulnerable bird feeders in storage for the time being, and replace them with a fresh new squirrel-proof model designed to contain seeds, suet, or nuts.
Since most little birds (but not all) won’t risk injury by attempting to hop through the gaps in the squirrel proof cage, and since the number of birds is reduced when employing this method, you may rest assured that only small birds will be able to dine from the feeders.
Open feeders must go
A hanging, contained bird feeder with no perches or neighboring platforms for pigeons to land on to aid in feeding is the best way to provide food for small birds like finches, warblers, chickadees, wren’s, and even hummingbirds.
If you want to make sure no pigeons ever eat bird food, you’ll need to get rid of any trays or platforms that might have contained it.
Even if there are only crumbs of bird food left on the tray or platform, it will continue to attract pigeons and must be removed.
Contained mesh wire feeders for nuts or dried mealworms, or tube feeders for seeds or even nectar, are the ideal bird feeders for little birds.
Additionally, open trays with seeds spread atop them are the greatest, or should I say most accessible, bird feeders for pigeons or doves to use.
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When space is at a premium, though, it’s important to remember that no open-to-the-public bird feeders are used.
If only little birds are fed from hanging bird feeders, pigeons will cease consuming the bird food.
Pigeons fed elsewhere
Would it be possible for you to feed the pigeons if you are unable to afford a new set of squirrel-proof bird feeders?
Though pigeons might go hungry, you shouldn’t feed them in your yard if you already have a problem with them.
If you only want one or two pigeons to visit your backyard each day, away from your bird feeders, it may be best to provide food for them elsewhere.
If you don’t want pigeons congregating around a dish left on the ground, you can either sprinkle bird seed over the lawn or corral them into a small area. Pigeons can’t eat from feeders, so you’ll have to do it by hand.
It’s important to keep an eye on the situation in the coming days to make sure the pigeon problem doesn’t get any worse and that the birds are indeed starting to frequent the designated feeding location.
Always keep in mind that smaller birds will eat the pigeon seed if the pigeons cease bothering the smaller birds at the feeders.
To conclude
Small birds can be fed by providing them with their own dedicated feeder, which can be suspended from a branch or a bird feeder pole.
Finches, warblers, chickadees, and other birds will be able to dine without competition from pigeons if you use this strategy alone. Pigeons are huge, ungainly, and clumsy on hanging feeders, therefore they can’t use feeders designed for much smaller species of wild birds.
However, pigeons can be a nuisance, scaring away other birds, especially smaller ones.
Pigeons will continue to try to get into the off-limits bird food in feeders, therefore it’s important to keep it covered at all times.
Pigeons eating a seed mix on the other side of the yard is the best technique to keep little birds fed in their own area of the yard.
Never use dishes that are accessible to any bird, whereas a squirrel proof bird feeder, enclosed in a cage, will successfully deter pigeons and doves from your feeders.
Source: https://petstutorial.com
Category: Birds
