Operation "Keep-big-birds-at-bay" seems to be working!
I always hang my bird feeders over a large hanging basket, so any food that falls from the feeder lands in the bottom of the basket and not on the ground.
The pigeons were emptying the feeder in a couple of hours, and the smaller birds didn't get a look in. So I placed a large plastic garden bell cloche over the hanging basket chains and secured it at about three inches. The tits and robin have soon found their way in, and the pigeons ignore it... (They do get fed elsewhere in the garden. )
Two or three times a year I replace the basket liner. It looks like it needs changing soon, but I will leave it for a few weeks, as the birds pull it apart for nesting material.
Operation "Keep-big-birds-at-bay" seems to be working!
I always hang my bird feeders over a large hanging basket, so any food that falls from the feeder lands in the bottom of the basket and not on the ground.
The pigeons were emptying the feeder in a couple of hours, and the smaller birds didn't get a look in. So I placed a large plastic garden bell cloche over the hanging basket chains and secured it at about three inches. The tits and robin have soon found their way in, and the pigeons ignore it... (They do get fed elsewhere in the garden. )
Two or three times a year I replace the basket liner. It looks like it needs changing soon, but I will leave it for a few weeks, as the birds pull it apart for nesting material.