pigeon menace

[georgie]

I have read some of the comments re pigeons (mainly in the thread regarding red deer) but not having any inclinations to violence, wonder whether I can deter them from the garden without stopping feeding all the other birds.....

I have a small garden in the centre of York and put out a variety of foods for the birds. However the pigeons always try and muscle in! I quite admire them for their intelligence but they just lounge around all day, on my house and (worse) on my neighbours'! houses, pooing everywhere and then when they do come down they trample the plants to death. I am becoming increasingly obsessed with foiling their efforts, but after trying ever more intricate barricades around the feeding areas, they are still outwitting me. They are able now to balance on 'defender' feeders in a hummingbird pose, stick their amazingly extendable necks through wire fencing and will deign to eat fresh fruit and mealworms (as well as the more usual seed, fat balls, bread etc) .......

So (in a nutshell) is it ever possible to encourage the sparrows, goldfinches, blackbirds, starlings, tits, etc whilst discouraging the pigeons?

Reading the other messages, I suppose I should consider myself lucky not to suffer the ravages of red deer!.....

[Jenny]

Georgie, I don't have pigeons here though I did in my wee garden in Leeds. Kerry L has obviously tried a fair amount of options, so she may be able to go over things with you. The pigeons in Leeds obviously lacked the brainpower and agility of yours however I did find them very reluctant to get into small corners - hard to take off in emergencies, I guess! I don't know if you've got that kind of garden but if you can put your feeders where such a large bird finds it hard to approach, it might help.

Don't blame you admiring their antics, though!

Jenny

[Kerry L]

Hello Georgie and hi to Jenny
I haven't been around much lately - dodging anything emitting heat and entertaining visitors from abroad. Actually, Georgie, I read your posting and thought I had written it in my sleep - sounds exactly like my problems! In fact the dawn chorus consists of woodpigeons and nothing else. There probably are other birds, but they are drowned out by these pests, and they are still mating all over the place. But thanks to Jenny, we have discovered this wonderful method of dealing with the closer pests. It can be quite draining in the heat, but the satisfaction exceeds the discomfort. The master blaster water pistol! He man found the gun and used it after England was out of the cup (although he said that he enjoyed spraying our daughter more because she screamed). Since then we have both fought over the gun (mental note to buy another) to squirt the menaces. We have a lot of hawthorn trees and a huge oak tree at the bottom of the garden and they now tend to land in the higher branches of the oak. Sometimes they are out of reach but still scatter because the water hits the leaves and it frightens them - they can't see what is disturbing the leaves and think it is another predator. Another enjoyable moment is when they have their backs to you and are in pre mating mode with their bottoms in the air - what an inviting target! With this weather the extra bonus of firing directly above yourself is the water catching you on it's way back down - nice and cooling! They are not landing on the pergola outside our bedroom any more - too many close encounters with the dragon lady and a broomstick up the bottom (not my bottom - theirs, and that was very successful)! He man has noticed that they know the sound of the pump action, so after squirting, he pumps the gun ready for the next shot. He wants to be called "Arnie", but now they recognise him because as soon as he steps out of the doors, they are off. That's when I come in, they are used to him and forget about me, so I do it until they get used to me again and then we swap over. Of course, getting one at point blank range is extremely thrilling:D .
It doesn't help when your next door neighbour allows them to nest in the Virginia Creeper on the front of his house:mad: . However our neighbour on the other side of us intends to get a master blaster of her own, because while our garden is free, they are visiting her garden and flapping around in her hawthorn trees and she is also totally fed up with them! I have learnt lots of new curses from my neighbour!
With regard to the plants, yes they have stomped a fair few into oblivion. I put in a lot of sticks, and it looks as though I have a forest of wooden dowling. They push those over too and squeeze between the ones that can't be knocked down. I thought of trying black cotton around the plants to be protected, but I don't want to upset the smaller birds and I don't want them caught up in the cotton either. Two of the darned things got into the greenhouse the other day, fortunately the only damage done was a broken leaf on a tomato plant. They were flapping around in there like crazy, I'm amazed that the other plants weren't damaged - there were feathers all over the place, so I have added them to my compost, they do have their uses after all!
I think a big raptor would be the answer to all our problems, and I admit, I have thought of many a sticky end to the pigeons, although I couldn't put them into practice! I have stopped feeding the birds, but my neighbour (with the colourful curses) still feeds hers, so they are queuing up for grub around her garden. When I first stopped, they still sat and waited for me to put something out, a bit Hitchcock really to look at, there were so many. My "boyfriend" comes and calls for me at the back door (Sharkey, the blackbird from the front garden) wanting a few raisins - poor old thing, he is extremely tatty now. So that is all I give the birds at the moment, and they are gobbled up by his wife and a couple of other blackbirds before the pigeons are aware of anything.
My mother-in-law also dislikes the pests and they are also a big problem in her area, and she says their problem is that they are "over-sexed" and can't stop mating! I don't know if putting them on "the pill" would be a solution, but it would lower the numbers significantly. The down side is how that could be applied without affecting other birds. Any boffins out there with ideas?
The only other thing I can think of is to put a little food out at different times, so they don't get used to it. After all, I can't blame them, easy pickings without having to search for it.
Well, I must go, He man wants to use this room for work (I sneaked in while he wasn't looking) and the workmen want a cold drink.
Bye for now - and Georgie, if you want to rant, feel free to chat to me!
Regards, Kerry

[georgie]

Dear Jenny and Kerry,

Many thanks for your replies.

Jenny – you have obviously moved far from your ‘wee garden in Leeds’!. I’m in awe of anyone who starts a thread re sea eagles – in urban York seeing wrens and long tailed tits is a major excitement so the sight of an eagle would probably overwhelm us!

It’s good to see all the comments re sparrows (including your contribution). I’m glad that others care about them as well – anyway I”ll reply to that on the appropriate thread.

Kerry - well, I’d never have thought of water blasters! They sound fun as well as (relatively) humane, although I’m not sure I’d want one fired at my bum. You’ll probably laugh hysterically at this but we quite like wood pigeons – but then they are rare visitors to our garden. Our pigeon menace is of the feral variety only.

But I have reduced both their numbers, and their lengths of visits, :) by a couple of measures….. first of all I bought a feeding guard ( no endorsement honestly but it was from CJ Wildbird Foods) for on the ground. It’s the one with the large mesh that allows starlings and smaller to get in and the pigeons have taken to running manically around it and I can only assume they are annoyed because they try pecking the smaller birds that do get in there! Anyway this all works fine until a starling ‘flicks’ food around (as they tend to do) and then sometimes the pigeons can crane their necks in to pick up odd morsels.
We’ve also put another guard on the ground under the hanging seed feeder – this is home made and bigger than the ground guard, and lined with cardboard (renewed periodically) to stop the pigeons getting their heads in. Actually I hadn’t realised how much seed the sparrows and goldfinches eject, because the ground is covered with discarded (whole) niger seed and sunflower kibbles. What I do now is clear this periodically and either compost it (or if unadulterated) collect it and throw it along the banks of the river … where no doubt the pigeons there make the best of it!

I think the blackbirds lose out a bit as they don’t like going inside the ground guard but when the pigeons aren’t around I throw mealworms into the chamomile and they sometimes get a few of those.

Anyway, thanks both of you for your help. I'm off soon to get my water pistol (evil cackle) - any recommendations as to make/manufacturer? At least we now have fewer pigeons and less poo to contend with so things are getting better!

All the best,

Georgie.

[Kerry L]

Hi Georgie
I have only Jenny to thank for the water pistol info. I think our one came from Tesco's. Any toyshop including Woolworths will have them.
Our cage is an old freezer drawer and when I start to feed the birds again I will have to move it onto the lawn (or for better words - dead thatch) and peg it down, because the pigeons now gang up and shove it over to get the food. Let the blighters try that! Hah! Then they'll sit around and sulk, looking like vultures. The blackbirds have learnt to raise their bottoms as they step through, so perhaps yours will learn too, given time - or desperation to reach nice juicy raisins!
I don't like the feral variety either, I think they should be classified as vermin. Working in London revealed a horrible sight of deformed monsters.
I think the answer to reducing the mess is a drip tray underneath - I'm sure one of the fellows on this site made his own, but can't remember the thread. Our greenfinches are just as fussy too. I'm surprised that the pigeons don't just stand in one spot with their mouths open - the food must land in the same area!
Evil cackles are the rage - my neighbour is doing it too, now!:D
Well, I'm off to entertain our little visitor, happy hunting!
Regards, Kerry

[Jenny]

Hi Georgie and Kerry

Georgie, get a masterblaster with a good size tank; you don't have to fill it up quite so often! Hope it works for you as it has for Kerry and it is a lot of fun! I'm really impressed by your efforts to keep them off the food. Did think of getting one of those protectors myself but dog, footballs, seagulls (our particular menace other than cats) and a very exposed garden didn't make it too good a prospect! It also seemed a little unfair on the sparrowhawk, too!

There's a fair few Yorkshire folk on Mull, BTW. And there's no need for awe - it mightn't be too many years before you get to see sea eagles not too far from the Yorkshire coast. But they are fantastic birds though they don't often fly over the house, goldies are more commonly seen. Wrens I have, but are difficult to spot in the undergrowth (aka jungle) but I'm chagrined to say I've not had long tailed tits - they're down the south of the island mainly. The reason I'm overly potty about sea eagles is that I'm one of the nest watching volunteers to stop egg thieves, so we get relatively up close and personal - don't mean to sound anthropomorphic, but it can be really interesting to watch the interaction - you can tell when Skye's not getting his oats and when Frisa's fed up with him being off the nest so long!!

Meant to say get a large seed tray for your nyjer feed if you're not got one; it saves quite a bit of "lost" seed. The downside is that collared doves can perch on it and help themselves! Wood pigeons are just too hefty, but it might be a dodgey idea with the feral pigeons around - especially smart alecx like yours.

[Kerry L]

Hello Jenny and Georgie
Our gun is quite big and heavy - need 2 hands to support and fire, hence He man's Arnie posing!:rolleyes:
The photo of the seed catcher that I saw was a plant drip tray and attached to the feeder with some thin wire, so only able to support the weight of smaller birds. I thought it a good idea and I think I will have a go at that when I get time.
Thought about you, Jenny, the other day, there is an advert in a smallholding magazine for buying red deer any size and age - bet you have a few comments on that! Although you could train your own Bambi to protect you and yours, perhaps. Also I was on the Chase Organics site and have purchased some weedkiller called "Amicide" - the felled sycamore has sprouted from its old root system, after the problems we had with the big one, we don't want any more. The description says that it is only recommended for killing unwanted tree stumps and great care should be taken as it will kill most plant life - I'll let you know if it works and maybe you could try it on your knotweed.
I think if footballs are around the garden, then two cages would be ideal for goal posts, then hopefully the ball will go in between rather than on them!
Sea eagles - great, I think the more you do a David Attenborough, you do get to know their little quirks. Mrs Sharkey, AKA Baldy, but shall be more politely known as Freckles, has been begging for raisins at the back door too. She was a bit wary at first, but now comes calling and nearly went inside the kitchen to look for me. She now sits on the pergola waiting patiently for the back door to open and will come much closer now. To my knowledge they have 2 babies at least, and while they are still being fed, are perfectly capable of eating on their own. I must admit they still have a lot to learn because one raisin causes quite a lot of problems before they manage to swallow it!
Regards, Kerry

[bushellmill]

Hello, I just have 2 bird tables. One enclosed with chicken wireand the other open. The pigeons have given up trying to get through the chicken wire.
Regards
David

[bushellmill]

Hello, I just have 2 bird tables. One enclosed with chicken wireand the other open. The pigeons have given up trying to get through the chicken wire.
Regards
David[/quote]