How to get those bully birds to behave themselves at feeders

By Joan Morris, The Mercury News

Dreamstime

DEAR JOAN — We have one bully of a robin who lives to dominate all bird feeders. He won’t allow any bird, except blue jays, to approach any feeder, let alone eat.

I have many new feeding areas front and back, but this doesn’t help much at all. It’s very frustrating, and I wonder if this behavior is unusual, and what else I might try.

Sharon Bender, West Yarmouth, Massachusetts

DEAR SHARON: Robins aren’t included on the list of common bully birds, but perhaps this one was a bad egg. Fortunately, advice for dealing with one bully bird is the same for all bully birds.

In the Bay Area, we often have issues with crows, California scrub-jays and mockingbirds. What these birds have in common with your robin is their size. They are all larger than the finches and other small tweeters that visit our backyard feeders, and because of that, they can be intimidating, whether they try or not.

To reduce their presence around your feeders, there are several things you can do. The first is to take a look at what kind of bird feeders you’re using. Any that allow the larger birds easy access to the seed or suet should be removed. Replace them with caged feeders — seed feeders that are surrounded by a cage that allows the smaller birds in, but keeps the larger ones out.

If you don’t want to replace feeders, which could be a costly change, try shortening the perches. Larger birds need a longer perch to accommodate their larger bodies. If you shorten them, the bigger birds can eat at the feeder.

You should also eliminate or reduce the number of platform and ground feeders. These often attract larger birds because they are easy to access.

Once their food supply is limited, the bully birds should look elsewhere and leave your smaller, more well-behaved birds to dine in peace. If you don’t want to exclude the robins from your yard, do those other things, but then set up a ground feeding station with their favorite food where they can eat but leave the other feeders alone.

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