How do I keep Doves out of my bird feeder?

Question

I finally got squirrels out of my hanging feeder but now I have a new problem. What I believe to be Mourning Doves fly to my feeder and just sit in it feasting on the seeds. The dove will clean out the entire feeder in about 30 minutes and I can't afford to feed them too! How can I keep them out but still attract the Cardinals, Wrens, Chickadees, etc. that I want?

Answer 1

Scatter some seed down on the ground under the feeder on a regular basis. From my experience Morning Doves prefer to forage on the ground rather than perch and gorge.

Answer 2

Yes at first I thought that scattering seed on the ground under the feeder would feed the doves & squirrels. I soon learned that it tends to bring every Dove from seven states along with the starling. From my experience Doves tend to bully and take over the feeder and move away any other birds. I found out after years of trial and error that wire mesh feeders are great providing that the perch is small. I live right next to a large park and the doves & squirrels put out the signal that there is sunflower seeds in my yard. They would empty out the three feeders within 30 minutes. I found that if I used 50lb test string between two trees help to keep out the Squirrels. The doves took a while figure out. I finally took and old medal desk lamp hood and placed it over the roof of the feeder and Wahla!!!!! The dome was large enough for my Cardinals & Blue Jays along with some wood peckers. With the dome not fully attached just hanging over the top does not give the doves the room to perch. The Jays & Cardinals really loves the black sunflower seeds & peanuts. Good Luck & Have A Blessed day

Answer 3

We ended up with lots of mourning doves after we got feeders too and we still have them around. As long as you have feeders you will have doves and squirrels because they like seeds too. And most tricks to deter the squirrels, eventually are refigured out by the squirrels anyway. Did you see the show on tv that showed squirrels overriding various squirrel proof feeders? It was a funny one for sure. You can put smaller perches on your feeders for the tiny birds to feed and therefore, the larger birds cannot sit on those perches. If you put feeders out that also have coned roofs, the bigger birds cannot sit on those because they just slide off the tops. Make sure that the coned roof is good and large so that the feeder is way underneath it. That way if they try to hold onto the edge of it with their claws, they still cannot reach the food with their beaks. It seems to work the best for squirrels too if they jump on them from the trees. To keep the squirrels off them from climbing the poles, secure one of them below the feeders too since they cannot climb up a slanted cone if it is large enough to prevent them from going around it. Usually it has to be at least 14 inches in diameter. That is what we did and also, to deter the squirres and larger birds we now have a feeder that is only about 8 inches off the ground that sits under the feeders. It still attracts the smaller birds there but it is a large bason type feeder with a screened bottom so that the rain flows through it. We put old bread, old nuts we have leftover, pieces of fruit going soft and even old vegetable pieces, etc into that bason and it attracks the squirrel and the larger birds who prefer to eat off the ground anyway. It works because they no longer go up to find their food now when it is plentiful near the ground. I even attract the wild bunnies that live around the area. When I add an item I haven't put out there, I keep an eye to see if it gets taken since some things aren't preferable to animals. That way I keep it cleaned out and nothing spoils to make the animals sick. So far, the only thing they haven't eaten is zuchinni and cucumbers. They love celery, all kinds of lettuce, berries, carrot pieces, breads, which I put peanut butter, jelly or even hardened bacon greece on for extra treats. They even like partically eaten corn cobbs after my grandkids don't finish them, but I think that is the bunnies favorite. And I have it in front of my big picture window so my felines that live in the house have a wonderful 'all day' entertainment. The squirrels get to it first so they don't need to climb the feeders and doves like eating off the ground do to their size anyway. Hope that helps.

Answer 4

Hi,

Mourning Doves normally feed on the ground. They are not comfortable feeding from perches. Try using a feeder with small perches or even shorten the ones you have.

You can also try putting a less expensive blend on the ground to draw them away from your feeders.

Happy Birding,
John

Answer 5

Keeping birds away from a bird feeder? What a strange request! The feed store where I go has a huge assortment of various types of bird feed. You can buy premixed, or buy each component you want and mix yourself. Only problem is you need to find out which birds you want to attract and what they eat. Them make a blend for them. If the "non cool" birds don't like the bill of fare they will go elsewhere.

Answer 6

usually a clean shot to the heart head or femeral arterie will take care of the problem
Happy hunting

Answer 7

I heard doves taste good. If that gives you any ideas... ;)

Answer 8

use sunflower seed because they can be cheap

Answer 9

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Answer 10

SHOOTE'M