To have a bird feeder that attracts pigeons?

[NoHolidaysforyou]

We have put up a bird feeder in the garden, as well as added a few apple trees recently. The bird feeder has only had pigeons and ravens visiting it. The pigeons are wood pigeons and my DH calls them rats with wings. Now I'm kind of worried that the neighbours might get upset about us attracting pigeons? I don't mind which birds visit and I did it to try to be helpful to the environment. I don't want to upset anyone either though so just wanted to check here if this would bother others.

AIBU to have a bird feeder in the garden that only has pigeons and ravens visiting?

I can't stand pigeons, wood or otherwise. Airborne vermin.
I don't want them in my garden.
My neighbour put a bird feeder up, but gave up when it kept going missing.

@peasout you stole your neighbours bird feeder repeatedly because you don’t like pigeons? What an utterly mad response. Think you’re the vermin!

I don't like pigeons. We're on a farm and they must get their fill in the crop fields as thankfully they don't bother with my garden feeders.

I love feeding the birds and my dd enjoys watching them all when she's having her breakfast. We've counted 14 different small bird species from tits to finches, tree creepers to nuthatchs and woodpeckers are one of the larger ones. All sorts. It's lovely; I find myself getting a bit obsessed sometimes 😂

'Pigeons spread disease, they are rats with wings.' This is not true - pigeons are no more likely to carry disease than any other garden bird. People have been keeping pigeons in large numbers as a food source and as carrier/racing pigeons for thousands of years without outbreaks of disease - that's why there are so many of them.

They are also intelligent and were used to carry messages during the Second World War. The Animal version of the Victoria Cross was awarded to more pigeons than any other animal during WW2.

Pigeons are the staple diet of sparrowhawks, at least in my garden. Foxes take them too. You're just supporting the food chain.

Get a squirrel cage feeder, the pigeons will still come and eat the dropped food. But the other birds will get a look in. We currently have a flock of sparrows which scoff all my seed. I have a pole feeder in the front grass surrounded by holly, dog rose, etc. Birds love the shelter. Also have a pair of nesting blue tits.
Once saw a sparrowhawk snatch a pigeon off the lawn too.
We have the squirrel proof cage to prevent actual rats (and squirrels) from scoffing all the seed.

To people who say pigeons are vermin or rats with wings, I can only say look at what people do to the world. Wouldn’t advocate not feeding them though.
I really envy you your ravens! To attract songbirds, you can put up feeders that larger birds can’t access, but give them time to work out it’s there and start visiting regularly, it can take a few weeks.

We've got a pair of wood pigeons that frequent our garden. Gorgeous birds. We also have magpies (another beautiful bird with a bad rep) and have recently been getting some smaller birds.

I have nothing to add really. Just making sure I'm following so I can come back to read some of the advice on this thread. I love birds in the garden.

We get enough tits and finches to make some bird food drop down to the ground for the pigeons. The rooks love the fat balls but can figure out most things, I love to watch them. The pigeons all try and act like they can't see each other than bicker when they can't avoid each other.

I get wood pigeons, they aren't my favourite bird but they're ok. They are quite used to me and don't fly off when I go out. We sometimes get a sparrowhawk that preys on them.

We get plenty of other birds, including magpies, which are a bit of a pain (noisy), and this year two large crows.

"pigeons can't feed from hanging feeders." Tell that to the woodies that try and hang off ours. They don't last long, but think it's the next step in their evolution.

Woodpigeons are not the same as the feral pigeons you find in town centres. They are also so crap at sitting in trees that they are rather inappropriately named, imo.

We have 2 feeders. One for seed that only small birds (mostly tits, sparrows) and the odd adventurous vole can access.

The other is a fatball feeder. We abandoned one that was like a cage because the jackdaws learned that if they hung upside down from it they could peck the balls until they were small enough to steal, much to the delight of the woodpigeons below, who are too fat and stupid to be able to use either feeder.

One like a spiral looked to be more jackdaw proof until one learned that it could push the spring apart with its feet.

Any concern about the jackdaws has been blown out of the water by the local grey squirrel, though. We were baffled on Tuesday to find the feeder on the ground, empty. Thought that the regular jackdaw vs magpie squabble might have dislodged it.

DH caught the squirrel with its arm inside the feeder, pulling out handfuls of food, this morning. It didn't even flinch when he went outside. I went out for half an hour, this morning, and came back to find it on the ground, again!

Please bin the spiral ones. Birds can get trapped in them and die.

I’ve got wood pigeons that can knock food out of a hanging feeder too. I get the wood pigeons and fat grey squirrels whilst my neighbour gets a flock of goldfinches (I do get robins, wrens, blackbirds, thrushes, magpies and blue tits as well). We get occasional buzzards overhead and a visiting peregrine falcon too (the falcon is a bloody noisy thing).

I’d also recommend the book Corvus - A Life With Birds by Esther Woolfson to learn more about rooks, crows and magpies.

I went off the local magpies when I saw one ripping a baby bluetit to shreds. We haven't had bluetits back, this year.

The starlings just monopolise here.

Pigeons numbers are high because people feed them, but they are the least necessary to the ecosystem, the great fat bastards.

Just seen my rooks feeding on the hanging feeders while the (wood) pigeons eat the fallen seeds. Lovely to see.

The Bird Lady downstairs feeds the pigeons outside on a communal piece of grass. It's like a scene from The Birds whenever I try to leave the flat. Flapping all over me. Horrific. Yes, to me, they are rats with wings. The pigeon shit everywhere if fucking horrible. They're nasty vermin in my eyes. Disgusting, disease ridden horrible nasty things. If you feed them, at least clean up the shit they leave everywhere.

Disgusting, disease ridden horrible nasty things. If you feed them, at least clean up the shit they leave everywhere

I would think most wildlife probably has the same opinion of humans.

Destroying everyone elses home, deliberately introducing diseases like Myxomatosis, polluting the air with toxic fumes, leaving their food everywhere for the rats to eat then complaining and poisoning said rats, selectively picking and choosing certain animals to fawn over eg ‘cute’ little birds like blue tits and robins while and demonising others like the town pigeon...

Try getting shit on by pigeons. Or not being able to hold the handrail down the stairs due the the pigeon shit.

That's unfortunate, Sunlov.

But then again, every living creature shits, not just the Pidge. Shit is one of the constants of life.

I have had every kind of bird feeder over the years. Hanging ones. Tray ones. Dangling on a pole ones. Long thin ones. Big round "squirrel Guard" ones.

We have loads of nesting coal tits, blue tits, robins, nuthatches etc but also a wealth of wood pigeons, rooks blue jays and so SO many squirrels.

The squirrels ate the lot, and the pigeons and other big birds cleaned up the rest (leaving giant sized poo everywhere) and lots of spillage on the ground where they knock the feeder over. It was empty within minutes of filling it up.

One day in autumn I saw a little robin trying to compete and I got cross.
I got 2 of these -
www.amazon.co.uk/Window-Bird-Feeder-Lifetime-Beautiful/dp/B07FW2DJ5R/ref=sr_1_9?rnid=1642204031&s=garden&crid=3FNLFY68PD0SV&keywords=window+bird+feeder&sprefix=window+bird+feeder%2Caps%2C148&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1556213548&sr=1-9

What a find! Big birds can't get to them. Squirrels can't climb up the glass. I can sit inside and see the orderly queue of little birds filling their bellies with mealworms and fatblock (hanging on a long swinging piece of wire attached to the eaves).

They were nicking all of my hanging basket liners for nesting material, so I hung a piece of the insulation wool that comes with a gousto box outside as well, and it's been a huge hit.
The mess is virtually nothing and it's so lovely now that they are nesting to see them popping in for dinner and some wool for the family.

I've been thinking about getting a bird feeder again now that we no longer have a cat. It never seemed fair to entice them into the garden when he would pounce on them and kill them. I do still have a pair of dogs, but neither have ever shown much interest in birds.

I now have the urge to shop for one. Anyone got any recommendations?

All the birds are welcome in our garden.Including the wood pigeons.They get some of the food dropped on the floor from the hanging feeders ,but the finches ,tits and sparrows get most of it.Each morning I scatter food in several areas for the ground feeders like the robins,blackbirds and wren and they are now so used to it they get the bulk before the pigeons move in after I've gone inside.And we have a resident pair of crows that I've become very fond of -least of all because they seem to keep marauding magpies at bay.And inevitably there's the odd cheeky squirrel but I've got squirrel busting feeders and strategically positioned them.The pigeon poo generally gets washed away in the rain,or a quick swill down with soapy water if it's dry .I love all birds.Less messy than most humans.