Feeding the Birds: Battling the Cats for Yard Supremacy

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the challenges of feeding birds in a yard while dealing with the presence of neighborhood cats. Participants explore various strategies to protect the birds from cats, including feeder placement and types of feeders, as well as the implications of attracting different bird species.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes the variety of birds attracted to their feeders but expresses concern about the cats lurking nearby.
  • Suggestions include building a fence, although one participant mentions neighborhood restrictions against front yard fences.
  • Another participant proposes mounting feeders on poles with disks to deter cats and squirrels.
  • Concerns are raised about the effectiveness of fences, with one participant stating their cat can easily jump over a five-foot fence.
  • Some participants discuss the types of birds that can be attracted based on feeder design and seed selection, emphasizing the importance of using smaller feeders to limit larger birds and ground feeders.
  • There are anecdotes about hand-feeding birds, with participants sharing their experiences and techniques for attracting birds to their hands.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants do not reach a consensus on the best method to keep cats away from bird feeders, with multiple competing views and suggestions remaining unresolved.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention the influence of local wildlife, such as doves and squirrels, on bird feeding dynamics, and the potential impact of feeding practices on attracting unwanted animals.

Who May Find This Useful

Individuals interested in birdwatching, gardening, or those facing challenges with local wildlife may find the discussion relevant.

larkspur
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I have started feeding the birds. So far I have attracted gold finches, house finches, cardinals, house sparrows, chickadees, bluebirds, and the entire neighborhood population of cats!
They hide out in my bushes and flower patches waiting for the opportunity to pounce. I have placed the feeders high in the trees but don't want my yard to become the neighborhood kitty bar.

Short of http://www.yardlover.com/products.php?pid=169" , is there any way to keep the cats out?
 
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Biology news on Phys.org
Congratulations, you're now the 'crazy cat lady'

http://www.duffgardens.net/content/newspaper/newspaperdec2.jpg

simpsons_CrazyCatLady.jpg
 
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Perhaps you should start doing as Tom Lehrer, "feeding" pigeons in the park?
 
cyrusabdollahi said:
Congratulations, you're now the 'crazy cat lady'

http://www.duffgardens.net/content/newspaper/newspaperdec2.jpg

[PLAIN]http://www.dcist.com/attachments/dcist_michael/simpsons_CrazyCatLady.jpg[/QUOTE][/URL]
:smile: :smile: :cry:
 
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Build a fence?
 
Rach3 said:
Build a fence?

My neighborhood restrictions won't allow fences in front yards.
I am not sure if a fence could keep cats out anyway.
 
If I move the feeder to the back patio then I won't be able to see the birds except from the kitchen table. I don't spend much time there...

I guess I'll have to go for the sprinkler...
 
The trick, as long as the aesthetics are okay with you, is to mount the feeders on top of poles that have disks around them. Neither cats nor squirrels can climb around the disks.
 
Rach3 said:
Build a fence?
For cats? My cat jumps over my five foot tall fence all the time.

larkspur, no squirrels yet? Squirrels were always raiding the bird feeder where I used to live.

Heh, just saw Danger's post. Yeah, that's a good idea.
 
  • #10
Evo said:
For cats? My cat jumps over my five foot tall fence all the time.

larkspur, no squirrels yet? Squirrels were always raiding the bird feeder where I used to live.

Heh, just saw Danger's post. Yeah, that's a good idea.

I have not seen a squirrel around here for a long time...could be because of all the cats.
 
  • #11
get a dog.
 
  • #12
Get one of those 50-ton anti-cat robots you see advertised on the Home Shopping Network at 2AM every weekday (see what you've been missing?! :biggrin:)
 
  • #13
Rach3 said:
Get one of those 50-ton anti-cat robots you see advertised on the Home Shopping Network at 2AM every weekday (see what you've been missing?! :biggrin:)
one of these?
build13.jpg
 
  • #14
Math Is Hard said:
one of these?
build13.jpg
Oh No! :smile:

I WANT ONE!
 
  • #15
larkspur said:
I have started feeding the birds. So far I have attracted gold finches, house finches, cardinals, house sparrows, chickadees, bluebirds, and the entire neighborhood population of cats!
They hide out in my bushes and flower patches waiting for the opportunity to pounce. I have placed the feeders high in the trees but don't want my yard to become the neighborhood kitty bar.

Short of http://www.yardlover.com/products.php?pid=169" , is there any way to keep the cats out?

Are the birds gathering on the ground? Or are your cats able to get them in the feeders?
 
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  • #16
DaveC426913 said:
Are the birds gathering on the ground? Or are your cats able to get them in the feeders?
Most of the birds stay up off the ground but the doves are starting to come around and feed off the ground.
 
  • #17
The reason I ask is becasue you can control what birds you get by the feed and the type of feeder.

I was only interestred in attracting the smaller birds - finches and such. Pidgeons and larger birds make a total mess.

So, you can get finch feeders which have both perches and seed openings too small for any but the smaller birds. And buy niger seed, which the larger birds won't eat.

What this does is not attract ground feeders, so nothing for the cats to hunt.


P.S. Doves? I don't think I've seen a live dove except in magic shows. But I live in Cananda...
 
  • #18
Mourning doves are quite common in the NE US, and maybe up into Ontario.

Chickadees and some finches will pick at particular seeds, and consequently seeds get spilled onto the ground. Doves, cardinals and jays will feed on the ground, and they will be vulnerable to cats, of course.

We have squirrels, but our bird feeders are surrounded by mesh to allow bird through but not squirrels.

We have a small dog, so maybe she keeps cats off the property. She also chases squirrels. Unfortunately, she will also go after birds on the ground, and she has caught a couple of sparrows or how finches recently, so we let out carefully to give birds on the ground a chance to fly away.
 
  • #19
Astronuc said:
Mourning doves are quite common in the NE US, and maybe up into Ontario.

Chickadees and some finches will pick at particular seeds, and consequently seeds get spilled onto the ground. Doves, cardinals and jays will feed on the ground, and they will be vulnerable to cats, of course.
If you give them black oil sunflower seeds, chickadees are pretty thrifty with the seed. They will take one from the feeder, and fly into a neighboring tree to eat the kernel, then come back for another. Goldfinches are absolute slobs, though. They will pick out and discard 3-4 seeds before eating one, leaving a lot of seeds on the ground (which attracts the mourning doves). I try to keep that cleaned up, so we don't get overrun with mice and squirrels. When I hand-feed chickadees, they will sort through the seeds, and pick the fattest one, but they do not discard the others - they simply try to get the best one available. At times, I have had two 'dees in my hand and another on my shoulder waiting for a turn.
 
  • #20
turbo-1 said:
When I hand-feed chickadees, they will sort through the seeds, and pick the fattest one, but they do not discard the others - they simply try to get the best one available. At times, I have had two 'dees in my hand and another on my shoulder waiting for a turn.

How do you feed them by hand? do you sit out in the yard holding out your hand full of seeds? How long did it take before they came to you?
 
  • #21
larkspur said:
How do you feed them by hand? do you sit out in the yard holding out your hand full of seeds? How long did it take before they came to you?
Some flocks are more gregarious than others and some individuals within each flock are braver than others but usually, if I stand next to the seed feeder with my hand out, some chickadees will start coming to me in a matter of 5-10 minutes or so. Red-breasted nuthatches took a bit longer, and they hovered and quickly picked seeds for a while, but once they got used to me, they came to my hand readily and landed. White-breasted nuthatches and woodpeckers have not been as brave. They get close, but will not land on me. If you have several feeders, the birds will use the feeder farthest from you to minimize their risk. If you have one feeder and stand near it, they will risk coming to you, and especially in cold weather, they seem to enjoy the warmth of your hand on their little feet. Chickadees weigh almost nothing - it's amazing how puffy and fat they can appear in the winter, and how little they weigh.

This winter, I'm going to see if I can get a tufted titmouse to eat from my hand. These cute little guys do not run in flocks, but often eat in the same places as chickadees, so I hope I can get them acclimated to me. Last year, I mixed black oil sunflower seeds with shelled striped seeds to give the chickadees more impetus to come to my hand. It didn't help a bit. They were content to take their black-oil seeds in the shell and come back for more. I do not hand-feed the 'dees for more than 15-20 minutes or so at a time, because the more timid birds are not getting fed during that time.
 
  • #22
turbo-1 said:
Some flocks are more gregarious than others and some individuals within each flock are braver than others but usually, if I stand next to the seed feeder with my hand out, some chickadees will start coming to me in a matter of 5-10 minutes or so. Red-breasted nuthatches took a bit longer, and they hovered and quickly picked seeds for a while, but once they got used to me, they came to my hand readily and landed. White-breasted nuthatches and woodpeckers have not been as brave. They get close, but will not land on me. If you have several feeders, the birds will use the feeder farthest from you to minimize their risk. If you have one feeder and stand near it, they will risk coming to you, and especially in cold weather, they seem to enjoy the warmth of your hand on their little feet. Chickadees weigh almost nothing - it's amazing how puffy and fat they can appear in the winter, and how little they weigh.

This winter, I'm going to see if I can get a tufted titmouse to eat from my hand. These cute little guys do not run in flocks, but often eat in the same places as chickadees, so I hope I can get them acclimated to me. Last year, I mixed black oil sunflower seeds with shelled striped seeds to give the chickadees more impetus to come to my hand. It didn't help a bit. They were content to take their black-oil seeds in the shell and come back for more. I do not hand-feed the 'dees for more than 15-20 minutes or so at a time, because the more timid birds are not getting fed during that time.
That's really cool. :approve:

When I was little, I got a squirrel to eat out of my hand, then it got impatient and started scratching at the back door when it wanted food, then it would just run inside the house whenever you opened the door. My mom was less than thrilled. Getting it back outside was NOT easy.

This reminds me of when our parakeet would get loose, my grandmother would get the crab net (they're nets on round hoops attached to long poles) and trap the bird with it. I've never seen anyone wearing a corset and orthopedic shoes move so fast. :bugeye:
 
  • #23
I never got birds to eat from my hands, but did have a couple bluejays that would play "catch" if I tossed peanuts to them. I fed the squirrels by hand, but they had to stay outside. The chipmunks were allowed inside the door, because they'd find their way back out (I used to line up peanut halves on my legs and the chipmunks would sit on my legs, stuffing each peanut into their cheeks...it was really cute if their cheeks started getting full and there was still a peanut left...they'd unpack and repack their cheeks, shifting around the nuts, trying to find a way to fit that last one in. Sometimes they'd just hold it in their teeth and take off...they were determined not to leave any behind! :biggrin:

The birds here might be good candidates for hand-feeding, if I had the time to stand there with my hand out for them. They tolerate me sitting on the deck only about 10 ft from the feeder, sometimes closer.
 
  • #24
Astronuc said:
Mourning doves are quite common in the NE US, and maybe up into Ontario.
Ah yes. Mourning doves.

They may be upper class compared to pidgeons - but they're still skyrats...
 
  • #25
Over 20 years ago, I was in a competitive course to see who would get what jobs in a 4-shift crew on a brand-new paper high-speed on-line coated fine paper machine. I eventually earned the top score, but my best stress-buster during that time was a wonderful female chipmunk. I would get home (an old house-trailer out in the country) around 4:00 or so, grab some sunflower seeds and go sit in the driveway trying to unwind. After less than a week, the chipmunk was eating out of my hand. Before the next week was out, I would get home, put sunflower seeds in the left pocket of my flannel shirt, and go outside and whistle, and the little darling would pop out of the rock wall, look left and right and race across the driveway and up the front of me, diving head-first into my shirt pocket. She was a sweetie, and she let me handle her and cradle her in my hands and look at her. The next spring when her babies were coming out, they could only approach me if mom wasn't around. If she saw them near me, she would bite the hell out of them to drive them and then come to me for affirmation. I had to love her and hold her to my cheek, but that was "tough love" with her babies.
 
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