mocking bird

What do I do to get rid of this bird?! he will not let hardly any birds eat from my feeder anymore. Seems like the only ones he will let eat are the birds smaller than he his. I have no more cardinals or doves anymore! HELP! I have a standard songbird mix of seed. I just bought a bag of all black sunflower seeds. if I switch to just that will that help? Will I lose birds by using just that kind. The bag says for all song birds and all the littles I usually see. This bird is driving me crazy!
thank you
dawn

Hi Dawn, I have to admit I'm pretty surprised at this only because I never see my Mockingbirds come to the seed feeders. In past years I've seen them eat suet but that's all.

One seed that the Cardinals like and the Mockers probably will not is Safflower.

It's a bitter seed.

BTW Mockingbirds love berries.

Do you have 1 or 2 seed feeders?

You know what, I have a suet feeder pretty close to my seed feeder. You think if I move that it would help? That darn bird sits on top of the fence and guards everything! the only time he doesn't seem to bother them is when I sprinkle seed on the deck below the feeder. those feeding on the ground he doesn't bother. I dont put berries out.
Thanks for info.!
dawn

Hi Dawn, As long as he has easy access to it. They are perching birds (not clinging) so if it's in a spot where he can perch comfortable while eating suet I don't see why he wouldn't eat it.
Next time you buy seeds if he is still around try the safflower.

Keep us posted! :-)

I guess I'll need to move the suet to a spot away from the seed feeder. This should keep him away I hope.

pdoyle: I have had this same issue with a pair of Mocks all winter. I've moved and re-arranged feeders, without much result. Sometimes the darn things are just bullies. The two I have tag-team all the feeders and just swoop in and scare everyone off - tube, platform, seeds, suet, nuts, whatever. The good news is that they can't cover the whole neighborhood all the time. And as spring starts to creep in, they are around less often.

Anyway, I hope moveing the suet helps. Perhaps I never moved it far enough away. It's very frustrating.
Deb

I'm glad I never had this problem. I love Mockingbirds!

Maybe the safflower would work then.

This message was edited Mar 2, 2009 7:19 PM

I love them, too. Love the bird, hate the behavior. Wish they'd play nice. :)

I love all birds but this one is testing my patience. I did move the suet feeder. I don't know how much good it will do. After a little while I looked out and he was in the seed feeder! Your right Deb, they are bullies. He just sits high on his perch and swoops down & chases everyone off. The few times he's not around, all the other birds sit on the fence rails around the seed feeder looking like they are asking each other "who's gonna go first?"
Lucky you pelletory!
d

I have a Mockingbird that was guarding the feeder cage and wouldn't let the Bluebirds eat. I set out a bowl of raisins that had been soaked in water and now the Mocker just goes there and is leaving everyone else alone! I also have a hanging pine cone with peanut butter that seems to keep the pesty birds busy!

Good suggestions Rose!

Raisins. Hmmmm. That's an idea! :)

I was just out in the backyard trudging around in the snow filling feeders and and filling/cleaning the heated birdbath.

A Mockingbird came in on the arbor watching me closely. He ate a bit of suet and then got a drink from the bird bath.

While he went back up eating suet a European Starling came in and attacked him. They had a mid air fight. The Starling won and the Mockingbird left.

Wow! Maybe if we had a few Starlings stop by on occasion, it'd keep the Mocks humble. :)
Pdoyle, ya need starlings!

(I saw a Mock chase off a Red-Bellied WP a few weeks ago.)

I get enough Starlings in the spring. Aren't they the ones that look like black birds? The rasins are a great idea. Wished I'd know that a few weeks ago. i threw away a whole thing of rasins b/c they were old and stuck together. hmm
Thanks for all the tips!

Our Mocker and Starlings don't play well together either and like yours Pelle the Starlings always wins. Here is a shot of the Starling hogging the pine cone peanut butter feeder while the Mocker waits his turn.

pdoyle..Another thing I do is put out my old grapes...I usually chop them up first. The Mockers love them too!

Yep, that's a starling alright. The Mocker is pretty in your pic. I'm still learning about what eats what. These are good tips though. DH keeps rolling his eyes b/c I keep banging on the widow to try and scare him (the MB) away. Says the neighbors are going to think I'm nuts. Gonna try and put out a fruit bowl for the MB's away from my seed feeder.

Oh guys we have to find that old thread for Dawn about "Your a Bird Nut When..."

I have been jinxed! I was sitting at my kitchen table (watching birds of course), had my binoculars out getting a close up of them and just so happened to look up in the trees and there must have been 30 black birds up there. It is too early for them to be here! My "little" birds dont stand a chance.

Dawn, My nice birds do fine even though we have a ton of black birds here. They seem to work in shifts.

Cardinals will often come in late in the afternoon or early evening after the bb's have gone and their also here very early too along with short times during the middle of the day. Their smart and they figure out whats best for them.

thanks pelletoy. Just seems like the BB are out when I'm home and able to watch. They everything too. part of nature I guess, what can do right?

I have mockers in my neighborhood but none ever come to my feeders. I guess they get what feed they need elsewhere. But I have never fed berries or raisins. I do sometimes put grapes out(which the squirrels get) and apple slices or orange halves(which nothing bothers)out to see what may eat them.

And, we wonder why Harper Lee named her novel To Kill a Mockingbird. LOL

I watched for awhile last night and I did not see the MB. Maybe moving the suet away from seed feeder helped. Either that or he's teasing me.

f_chisolm - I never see anything eating the apples or oranges I put out either (except gnats)

wbbirdwoman - LOL indeed

You Know You're a Bird Nut When…

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/808378/

Mrs_Ed! That is me!!! Excellent!
thank you
dawn

I wish I had been here when that Bird Nut thread was going...LOL
My family thinks I'm bird crazy!

Boy, it sure is nice to know you are not alone! It's not such a bad thing either.

Mrs. "Loves Great Danes," I like that! It will always be one of my favorite movies. The day our Mockingbird kept chasing the Cedar Waxwings away from the inkberry bush, I was tempted to shoot it. (Just kidding, of course). BTW, the Blue Jays we have aren't bullies like most Blue Jays are. At least, they're not when I'm watching.
:-)

I got home tonight and noticed the pool MB waaaayyy over where I had put the suet feeder. He looked right pitiful all the way over there by himself. I "almost" felt sorry for him.