Feeding frenzy
Our feeders have recently been overrun with pigeons and house sparrows. The chickadees, titmice, downies, nut hatches, etc. are having a tough time of it, and so are we. I was told once that if i used sunflower seeds exclusively the house sparrows and pigeons would be discouraged, but apparently I didn't listen carefully enough and bought black oil sunflower seeds, which the hoodlums like just fine. If i filled the feeders with striped sunflower seeds, do you guys think that would discourage the pigeons and house sparrows? The supplier I use doesn't offer striped sunflower seeds, but I'm sure i could find it somewhere. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am thinking murderous thoughts, which is bad for the soul. Many thanks for any help.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Laura Erickson on -
It's a tricky situation. House Sparrows do have trouble cracking open striped sunflower. Pigeons swallow their seeds whole and let their gizzard do the work, so they will eat either. Some special (and expensive!) feeders have a counter-weight system that closes the feeder when anything as heavy as a pigeon or squirrel steps on, but that doesn't help with House Sparrows. In Duluth, MN, where I live, there are very few sparrows (at least in my neighborhood) and the pigeons go to one feeder but leave the little acrylic feeders on my windows alone, so even when they're around, the little birds have other choices.
I hope someone else here has more useful suggestions!
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Permalink Reply by susan loesser on -
Thanks, Laura, for responding so fast. I wish you had better news for me, tho! We even had a cooper's hawk menacing the feeder all day yesterday and at one point flew right through the mob of pigeons about a foot off the ground. they didn't even wince. It happened so fast that i don't know if the hawk got one, but i hope so. We do have one feeder with a counter-weight, but as you note, the legions of house sparrows enjoy it.
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Permalink Reply by Crystal Van lare on
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I believe the striped sunflower shells are too hard for some of the smaller birds to crack. I have the same problem with House Sparrows so I put up a couple of feeders with black oil sunflower and they seem to empty one before moving to the other, which gives the other birds a chance and some peace. These feeders are about twenty feet apart. I used to keep one feeder in the backyard and one in the front and had pretty good results with that.
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Permalink Reply by susan loesser on
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Thanks for the idea. unfortunately our sparrows are so numerous that they get into all 3 feeders simultaneously. but i had the thought that i'll fill the counterweight one and the caged tube feeder that the pigeons can't access with striped seed, and see how many of the little birds can handle that. if this discourages sparrow activity that would help a little. Did i mention our monk parakeets? They can get into everything, and eat everything, so that will be the next challenge! I don't really have a front yard to try out that idea, but our feeders are just about 20 feet apart in the back. Thanks again, Crystal. it really helps to discuss this.
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Permalink Reply by Laura Erickson on
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Oh, wow, Susan. Where do you live? My sister had Monk Parakeets in her yard in Elmhurst, Illinois. I guess with some birds it's either too many or none at all.
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Permalink Reply by susan loesser on
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We live in Edgewater, NJ, right across the Hudson from Manhattan. Twenty years ago there was one small colony of monks across the street from the post office. they were local celebrities, and when people went to the post office we all paused a while to watch their antics, and to enjoy their beautiful plumage against the winter snow and to be awed by their survival skills. Now there are monk parakeets EVERYWHERE in Edgewater and also in the surrounding towns. A great success story for them. But for many of us they have become quite a nuisance. I thought they were a NYC area phenomenon, but also in Illinois? Oh dear. I imagine they'll be all over the country soon. and they breed like crazy!
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Permalink Reply by Larry Meade on -
There is a small colony of Monk Parakeets in Newport News, Virginia and I have also seen them in Houston, Texas. As for the nuisance birds, my parents cover their feeders when the House Sparrows get out of control. The sparrows go away and the other birds at least have a chance when the feeders are uncovered again.
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Permalink Reply by susan loesser on
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Good idea. Thanks. About how long do they keep the feeders covered?
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Permalink Reply by Larry Meade on
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I'm not sure, but I think it may take a few hours for the sparrows to all go away.
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Permalink Reply by Rod on -
I have used safflower seeds mixed in with sunflower seeds and it discourages some of the pest birds...but definitely avoid using millet. Also to help the titmice, nuthatches, and chickadees we put out an ample amount of cheap crunchy peanutbutter instead of seeds for them. You can spread it on the side of tree bark or we took a simple block of wood 4" x 6" x 3/4" cut parallel grooves in it on both sides, covered it with peanutbutter and hung it up...it's usually is picked clean in a couple of days. Plus, it attracts woodpeckers and few other interesting birds.
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Permalink Reply by Laura Erickson on
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Rod's suggestion about peanut butter is excellent. I live in a regular neighborhood in Duluth, in northern Minnesota, and the only times I've had Boreal Chickadees have been to peanut butter.
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Permalink Reply by susan loesser on
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Oh i know i sound excessively negative and difficult, but I've tried peanut butter, which all goes to the squirrels as fast as i can smear it on the trees. Generally our squirrels don't try very hard to get at the feeders so they're usually not a problem. But i haven't figured out a way to supply peanut butter that is squirrel-proof. I'll check with my feeder supplier to see if there's some device i can put it in that will protect it. I did buy some suet that has hot pepper flavoring, which the squirrels eschewed. However, the monk parakeets find it delectable, and devour a cagefull within a day. Meanwhile, i'm going to try the striped sunflower seed in one of the feeders the pigeons can't get at and see if it thwarts the house sparrows.
I very much appreciate all your suggestions, and i'm very happy to have found this site. I will let you all know if anything works, and please post any further ideas. Thanks so much!
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