 Feeding Challenges
Because you provide food for wild birds, at some point you are likely to encounter
unwelcome guests (Feeder Visitors, below)
or diseased birds (Bird
Diseases). Below are some suggestions for how to deal with these bird feeding
challenges.
Feeder Visitors
Other Birds
Avian Predators
Squirrels
Cats
Other Mammals
Other Birds
While some people welcome any bird
regardless of its size or appetite, others get frustrated when grackles, starlings,
pigeons, or crows overrun their feeders. To discourage these larger birds, use feeders
that are made for smaller birds, such as tube feeders with short perches and no catch
basin on the bottom. Avoid platform trays and don’t spread food on the ground.
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Avian Predators
At some point you can expect a
visit from a hawk, usually a Sharp-shinned Hawk or a Cooper’s Hawk. At first
you’ll probably welcome the close-up view but if your hawk stays around and scares
your feeder birds away, what can you do? The best solution is to take your feeders down
for a few days. The hawk will get hungry and move on.
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Squirrels
Though it’s fun to watch a
persistent squirrel finagle its way to your bird food, it’s less amusing if squirrels
overrun your feeders and discourage birds from visiting. You can distract squirrels by
feeding them peanuts or dried ears of corn in a location some distance from your feeders.
This tactic might not work for long, however, and sometimes attracts neighboring
squirrels. You also can try "squirrel-proof" bird feeders. But beware:
we’ve watched one squirrel after another outwit numerous varieties.
Squirrel baffles are usually the
best way to keep squirrels away from your feeders. These are simply barriers that prevent
squirrels from getting to feeders. On pole-mounted feeders, baffles should be fixed in
place beneath the feeder and far enough from the ground, usually 5 feet, that a squirrel
cannot jump over the baffle onto the pole. On hanging feeders, a tilting baffle—at
least 18 inches in diameter—should be installed above the feeder. In addition to
commercially made PlexiglasTM baffles, bird watchers have used old record albums, plastic
salad bowls, two-liter soda bottles, even stovepipes.
Another hint for suspended feeders:
try hanging them from a three to four-foot length of monofilament fishing line instead of
wire. Also, if you hang your feeder from a horizontal line, try placing lengths of plastic
tubing on the line; the tubing should spin when a squirrel tries to walk on it.
Some bird watchers have been using
seeds that are coated with hot pepper or capsaicin products. Theoretically, squirrels
avoid the coated seed while birds are unaffected. Researchers at Cornell University
continue to test this theory.
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Cats
Cats are the most numerous pet in
North America. Unfortunately, they kill hundreds of millions of birds each year.
Ground-feeding and ground-nesting birds and fledglings are at greatest risk. Feeder birds
are also easy prey.
If you own a cat, we strongly
recommend that you keep it indoors to reduce this needless loss. The American Bird
Conservancy has created the Cats
Indoors!Campaign to increase awareness of the problem. For more information, contact:
American Bird Conservancy, Cats Indoors! 1250 24th Street, NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC
20037. Phone: (202)778-9666
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Other Mammals
If bears, raccoons, deer, or moose
become a nuisance, the best tactic is to make your feeders inaccessible with fencing. If
that approach is impractical, you’ll probably have to take down your feeders
temporarily. Like hawks, mammals will find new foraging routes. If your mammalian visitors
appear only at night, take in your feeders at dusk.
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