Rock pigeons are nonnative birds that may gobble up a lot of chicken seed rapidly. Learn to discourage pigeons from visiting your feeders.
Ask the Specialists: Methods to Get Rid of Pigeons
“How do I eliminate pigeons at my feeders?” asks Birds & Blooms reader Vivian Tester of Bristol, Tennessee.
Birding specialists Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman write, “Pigeons generally is a nuisance, particularly after they arrive in massive flocks, gobbling up a great deal of seeds. Taking your feeders down for some time is typically efficient, however there are different choices to discourage pigeons, too. Hanging feeders, particularly tube model, are harder for pigeons to entry. There are also tray-style feeders with cagelike baffles that match excessive, designed to maintain massive birds from reaching the seed. Since pigeons want to feed on the bottom, you should definitely hold the world beneath your feeders clear as effectively.
“Pigeons at my feeders are grasping and chase the opposite birds away. How can I discourage them?” asks Fonda Loring of Cadillac, Michigan.
Kenn and Kimberly: Though pigeons are fascinating to look at, they could hog a number of house and push smaller birds away. They trigger issues in yards the place birdseed is scattered on the bottom. To discourage them, strive utilizing feeders designed for smaller birds, equivalent to tube feeders with sunflower or Nyjer seed, and forestall seeds from accumulating on the bottom beneath. Suet cake feeders additionally entice quite a lot of birds, however not pigeons. If meals isn’t available on the bottom, the pigeons get out of the behavior of spending a lot time in your yard.
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Take a Break
When less-desirable birds like pigeons or home sparrows go to your feeders in numbers, typically the one choices are to take down your feeders till the flocks transfer on or to embrace the widespread birds as a fixture of your yard panorama.
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Pigeons Are Nonnative Birds
Rock pigeons, like Eurasian collared-doves and European starlings, will not be native to america. Launched from Europe within the 1600s, rock pigeons saved lives carrying messages for the U.S. Military in each world wars. Many are grey with two black wing bars and glossy inexperienced or pink on the neck. Pigeons nest in buildings, in barns and beneath bridges. They feed younger with milk developed of their throat pouches.
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