Author Topic: Be careful what you wish for!  (Read 3781 times)

dave c

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Be careful what you wish for!
« on: Nov 07, 2019, 09:00:25 AM »
Every day I put food on the bird table and every day two big fat pigeons come and scoff the lot leaving nothing for the little ones and every day I wished I could make them go away until this week when on Tuesday a sparrow hawk swooped down and killed one of them and then on Wednesday it came again and killed the other one and now I miss them and feel guilty for wishing that they did not come. I miss them!
dave c.

Raven

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Re: Be careful what you wish for!
« Reply #1 on: Nov 07, 2019, 09:16:00 AM »
I had the problem of the wee birds getting nothing and the big birds scoffing the lot and bullying the wee ones. It cost me a bit to sort it but sort it I did. I have a Feeder Station with places for 3 hanging feeders, a feed tray and a water dish. I kept the peanut one as it is and replaced the seed one and the suet ball one with Pest Off Feeders, they work a treat and the big birds can't use them. They have the Peanut one and the tray feeder, everyone's sorted and happy now, all get their share.

Michael Rolls

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Re: Be careful what you wish for!
« Reply #2 on: Nov 07, 2019, 10:01:14 AM »
Like you my feeders are a sort of double skin structure that bigger birds can't use - the largest bird that can use it (wish he would come more often) is a Greater Spotted Woodpecker - pigeons and crows are just too big
Mike
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klondike

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Re: Be careful what you wish for!
« Reply #3 on: Nov 07, 2019, 03:22:57 PM »
Look on the bright side - at least you gave the sparrowhawk a couple of good meals.
So long and thanks for all the fish

Sheila

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Re: Be careful what you wish for!
« Reply #4 on: Nov 07, 2019, 03:30:51 PM »
I had the problem of the wee birds getting nothing and the big birds scoffing the lot and bullying the wee ones. It cost me a bit to sort it but sort it I did. I have a Feeder Station with places for 3 hanging feeders, a feed tray and a water dish. I kept the peanut one as it is and replaced the seed one and the suet ball one with Pest Off Feeders, they work a treat and the big birds can't use them. They have the Peanut one and the tray feeder, everyone's sorted and happy now, all get their share.

Raven, I stopped feeding the birds because a neighbour got a rat in her house!  It's a shame because I did enjoy seeing them.  You can't improve on your set up to avoid anything dropping for the rats can you?

Traveller

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Re: Be careful what you wish for!
« Reply #5 on: Nov 07, 2019, 03:40:16 PM »
I'm surprised that a sparrowhawk would take a pigeon which is much larger, but apparently they account for about 1% of homing pigeon deaths.  The larger female bird will commonly take birds like thrush and blackbird.

We see sparrowhawks quite often round here and I've seen them seemingly appear from nowhere and take a sparrow in mid flight.  The most common raptor we see is the buzzard, but they don't tend to come into gardens.

I find that some birds are very selective and scatter the seeds they don't want.  These are eaten by some other birds, but I've never see any sign of rats.  We do see some mice and shrews.
You'll have had your tea.

Hugh

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Re: Be careful what you wish for!
« Reply #6 on: Nov 07, 2019, 03:55:18 PM »
Sheila your neighbor having a rat in her home as nothing to do with you feeding the birds. They may come onto your garden for food like any other wild animal. A rat in their home sounds to me like a fishy tale.

Diasi

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Re: Be careful what you wish for!
« Reply #7 on: Nov 07, 2019, 05:57:39 PM »
You can usually tell when hawks are seen on farmland as you hear the bang of the 12 bores or the pop of the 22 rifles.
Make every day count, each day is precious.
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Traveller

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Re: Be careful what you wish for!
« Reply #8 on: Nov 07, 2019, 07:36:08 PM »
Not round here. Plenty of Buzzards and a smaller number of kestrels and sparrowhawks. There are peregrines in some areas and (rarely) red kites.  The Eagles and Ospreys are further north and west.
You'll have had your tea.

Raven

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Re: Be careful what you wish for!
« Reply #9 on: Nov 07, 2019, 08:16:19 PM »
Raven, I stopped feeding the birds because a neighbour got a rat in her house!  It's a shame because I did enjoy seeing them.  You can't improve on your set up to avoid anything dropping for the rats can you?


I've never seen any rats around here. If I did then I'd stop feeding the birds for a while untill the rat moved away elsewhere.

Alex22

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Re: Be careful what you wish for!
« Reply #10 on: Nov 07, 2019, 08:20:01 PM »
I've never heard of a Pest Off bird feeder, I've got an ordinary bird table and the pigeons are a flaming nuisance I've tried putting mesh around but it hasn't worked.
.

Raven

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Re: Be careful what you wish for!
« Reply #11 on: Nov 07, 2019, 08:27:19 PM »
Just Google pest off bird feeder.

Hugh

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Re: Be careful what you wish for!
« Reply #12 on: Nov 07, 2019, 08:35:23 PM »
I have seen rats many times they have never done me any harm. They are wild animals searching for food. They are a problem in towns and cities because of where they live in sewers. In the country side they are clean furry wild animals and should not concern any one.   

biglouis

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Re: Be careful what you wish for!
« Reply #13 on: Nov 07, 2019, 10:45:44 PM »
I feed both birds and other wild things like foxes that come into my garden. I hope my neighbour knows better than to speak out of turn since I got video of her husband throwing rubbish onto my lawn.
Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the blind obedience of fools.

prestbury

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Re: Be careful what you wish for!
« Reply #14 on: Nov 08, 2019, 12:25:58 AM »
In the country side they are clean furry wild animals and should not concern any one.
Brown Rats (not town rats) are lovely looking creatures, except the one that destroyed a box of my apple harvest September just gone. It should be remembered that all rats give Weils disease from their urine which can be pretty horific to humans.