Mockingbirds

17 years ago

Ok I have been invaded by Mockingbirds lately.

They have discovered my Meal worms.

Problem is, they eat them up WAY fast and chase off my BB's!!

The feeder I have is on the ground, I can NOT get these shy BB's to eat if I hang it.

The feeder was purchased at Wal Mart, it can be used as a Hanging birdbath, or a hanging platform feeder. I put water in the bath part of it and set a dish inside that to keep out ants.

Works GREAT, but now we have the Mockingbirds!!

Here is a pic

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Comments (8)

dave_in_va
17 years ago
Mockers are notorious bullies. Once they have tasted meal worms they act as if they are theirs alone. I have heard of people who set a small dish off to the side, hoping the mockers would eat their fill and leave the BBs alone, but I don't like that idea much and these days, when mealies are so hard to get, you need to think about a cage type feeder that will keep the bigger birds out. Cher, at the Bluebird Nut Cafe sells two sizes and I have both. Here is the smaller one. It is designed to hang but I mounted mine to the railing on my deck so the BBs will come within camera range. It does keep the mockers out.

Dave
debbie321
Original Author
17 years ago
Thanks Dave...Do you have any problems getting them to eat out of it? mine are so shy, I just got them to eat out of the new dish from the ground :0
Well only the male, the female wont eat out of it at all
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donnalovesblue
17 years ago
Debbie....I had the same problem, only with crows!!! When I first began the mealworm thing, I put them in a small dish where the blues were perching...then a crow showed up (feeding babies in a nest not far away) and left nothing for the blues, so I ordered a mealworm feeder similiar to the one in the pic...mine also came from the Bluebird Nut Cafe....I left the top off for a few days so the blues could get used to it, then placed it back on....it worked!!! Strangely enough, no other smaller bird even discovered it, probably because all of my regular bird feeders are on the opposite side of the yard.

It may take awhile for them to get used to a feeder, but they'll follow those mealies!!!

Donna
debbie321
Original Author
17 years ago
Donna, did you get that round one off that site?
I want to get that too, I just hope they will accept it!
How would I keep the ants away since it will be on the ground?
I am going out of town for 10 days on the 26th. Babies are due to fledge in 8 - 10 more days, so I am hoping I can get my friend to put mealies out daily while I am gone.
But the ants are a BIG problem (and of course the Mockingbirds, bu this feeder will take care of that!).
Just am concerned about them accepting the new feeder. This female is VERY shy, I have never even seen her eat out of this feeder I have now. The male readily accepted this one, SO I am hoping he would accept the jail type.
ahhhh I am nervous about leaving for 10 days!!
bluebars
17 years ago
Ants have learned now to find this food source. You will have to move it, and raise it, just as you would a hummingbird feeder. In late July and August, we have bigger problems with yellow jackets taking the mealworms. Yikes!
Bluebars
debbie321
Original Author
17 years ago
Donna do you use your feeder on the ground?

BlueBars - you mean hang it up on a shepherds hook?
My Blues wont eat out of a hanging feeder - I have tried and tried, they just ignore them if I hang it.
Any advice on how to get them to would be great!!!
They wont even come eat until I go back in the house and when I do that, the Mockingbirds come.
My other pair I had, were not shy at all but these must have had a bad experience with people or something.
I am having a heck of a time with this pair!
donnalovesblue
17 years ago
Debbie...I have the round cage style with a blue dish in the middle. I tried the sheperd's hook to no avail..the feeder was too heavy and swayed too much...mine currently sits on top of my wooden privacy fence...my son-in-law came a month or so ago, to make a platform on top of a pole, to secure the feeder, but the pole was too short...that project is STILL on hold!!!LOL...luckily, I have never had a problem with ants in the feeder.
mullipuff
17 years ago
I have the blue-domed feeder from Duncraft and it works great. My Blues were used to a little cup that I had nailed to a tree stake, but then a very FAT Robin found it. So I bought the dome version and left the top off of it for several days while the Blues got used to the new container. The I put the dome on in it's highest position (the Robin could still get in during this "training" period). After about three more days, I lowered it to its lowest setting and then only the Blues could fit. The great thing about this feeder is that it can be hung or mounted on a pole - it has a screw-in bottom that is just the same size as a standard broom handle. I purchased a broom handle from the hardware store, gorilla glued the feeder in place for good measure, and then simply pushed the handle about 5 inches into the ground. No fuss, no muss and now only my blues can get the mealies...

Mockingbirds

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Mockingbirds

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