Topic: An abundance of greedy birds!

[Yellow Petals]

I love all the birds who come to visit my garden.  I have a regular pair of blue tits who come several times a day everyday since they were babies.  We've always had lots of starlings, mr and mrs blackbird etc.  About a month ago we had a little Robin start to frequent the feeders/table too, then he disappeared.  Well, I swapped all the foods over a couple of days ago and he's back! 

Trouble is, there's a pair of magpies who've found us and another bundle of about eight starlings.  My poor little birds aren't getting a look in now :(  The magpies eat everything off of the table/shelf/upturned bucket on the lawn.  The starlings eat all of that and also do their acrobatics on the nuts, fat holders and little things I hang in the trees.

Don't know how to keep food reserved/secret for the little ones, any ideas at all?  I don't want to stop ANY of them eating, it's cold and they all need to be fed but it's so unfair on my little ones, they don't get a look in.  I see them sitting patiently in the tree waiting for the big birds to fly away  :(

[saddad]

They probably will get a look in... even the big guys get "fed up " and wander off....
 ???

[Toadspawn]

Magpies are primarily ground feeders so can you scatter food on the lawn away from the hanging feeders and the bird table. If you scatter bread crumbs and mixed bird seed over the ground the large birds, blackbirds, sparrows, chaffinches, greenfinches, wagtails, yellow hammers etc are happy to feed on the ground leaving the feeders free for tits, goldfinches, siskins and other small birds.
They seem to take it in turns to attend the feeding stations and although Magpies, Jays, Jackdaws, Pigeons, Doves will take the larger bits of food there is always a lot of small pieces left on the ground for the smaller birds.
I currently have a pair of Magpies visiting everyday plus the occasional Jackdaw. Soon the Pigeon and Jays will arrive as the weather gets colder. This does not stop the blackbirds, sparrows, greenfinches, chaffinches, wren, dunnock, robin, starling, tits, nuthatches and goldfinches and soon the siskins and longtailed tits.   

[Larkshall]

Don't encourage the Magpies, they take the songbirds eggs and are classed as vermin. Most of the crow family take the eggs of small birds.

[Marymary]

Magpies also kill baby birds & even adult birds.  We often find headless blackbirds & starlings at school where we have literally dozens of magpies at certain times of the year.  Horrid things even if they do look beautiful.

[Toadspawn]

Domestic cats and grey squirrels do far more damage to the small bird population than Magpies. I would erradicate cats and squirrels long before I thought of removing Magpies.
I don't think it is correct to say that most of the crow family take eggs of small birds. As far as I am aware only the Magpie will take eggs and babies if it gets the opportunity and it is not classed as vermin.

[KevB]

Vermin = Pests, and if they are classed as pests then they are vermin! So says the dictionary! But they all have to eat, Obviously some more than others! the Maggies round here a the size of penguins (ok small ones).

good luck YP
Kev