Wild bird feeding
will6
Posts: 31
My wife set up a large and varied bird feeding area in our garden away from the house,The problem is its overrun with pigeons,After days of failing to scare them away (unlike them who have no problem scaring every other bird away) I would like to know if anyone can tell me if there is a humane way of trapping and disposing of them.
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We have the same problem, but only two come on a regular basis. A couple of months ago our local sparrow hawk ripped one apart on the lawn, didn't see the other or any others for a month or so. Now we have two around again!! Where's that hawk when we need him
As far as getting rid we go out clap and wave our hands 
I throw tennis balls. Other than stop feeding the other birds with food that falls on the ground
I've put catchers under the feeders, but we still want to feed all but piddies
Firecracker,We have tried all of your methods, We have a small kestrel that uses our trees as a launch pad, but ive only ever seen it take small mammals from the garden.
Not sure you're allowed to trap and dispose of ANY wild bird.
No doubt someone will come along who knows for sure
Are you allowed to shoot and eat wood pigeons? I bet they taste decent, but probably isn't that much meat on them compared to a chicken.
Okay I also found this, it is a list of birds and mammals that you are legally allowed to shoot (presumably with an air rifle) on your property.
This is what you can shoot in your back garden
BIRDS: (covered by the general licences – for details visit www.basc.org.uk/en/shooting/general-licences.cfm) crows, rooks, jackdaws, magpies, jays, woodpigeon, collared doves, feral pigeons.
MAMMALS: brown rats, grey squirrels, stoats, mink and rabbits
My own google reveals:
'The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 states that it is an offence to kill any bird - including pigeons - unless a licence is held, but section one allows exemption if an organisation or individual complies with general licence regulations.'
If you get rid of these particular pigeons, some more will come and take their place. Wasn't it Aristotle who said 'Nature abhores a vacuum'?
Are they woodpigeons or feral town pigeons, or collared doves or .......... ???
Dovefromabove,They seem to be feral town birds, they are huge,They numbered over a dozen this morning,It may not be pc but they have got to be delt with to give the small birds a chance of feeding where we can see and enjoy them.
Will - you might find that someone in the area is chucking bread (or similar) out which attracts these flying vermin. I have the same issue - someone across teh road has seagulls and all sorts in their garden hanging about most of the day
Hard to stop unless you know the offender and can reason with them.
Cheap bird food is often padded out with barley which attracts pigeons of all kinds so feeding the no mess stuff, though more expensive, is cheaper in the long run. Not saying that will solve the issue but worth a try.
Or contacting the council perhaps?
At my last -(semi rural) house philippa, we only had one neighbour, right across the road. Every b****y day he chucked the end of his loaf out on his long drive, attracting every crow, seagull (nowhere near the sea of course) and magpie for miles around. The greedy buggers then hopped across to our garden to nick the bird food...