Saratoga Springs, New York

Frequently Asked Questions


Q:  How do I get rid of pigeons without harming blue jays, cardinals, grackles, woodpeckers, and squirrels?
A:  Watch what they eat and quit serving it until they stop visiting.  Don't put feed on the ground (and clean up what falls there) or use ledges, platforms or any flat surfaces.  Use only hanging feeders that sway and feeders too small for the rock pigeons.
I would also recommend offering larger seeds for some of the larger birds you want to attract.  Rock pigeons eat seeds whole, so they would be reluctant to eat from a tray feeder containing larger striped sunflower or peanuts-in-the-shell.
Lure the rock doves away from your main feeding area by putting their preferred food someplace where you can tolerate them.  To discourage them from roosting nearby, use chickenwire to screen off roosting sites.

Pigeon

Q:  A flock of about 12 house finches feeds daily at my window bird feeder.  Most are the usual red house finches, but I also have a couple that are definitely orange and at least one that is very yellow.  Why the color differences?
A:  Research published in 1931 clearly linked age with color in house finches.  Scientists were able to determine that younger male house finches tend to be lighter colored (yellow and orange).  In 1976, experimental results that linked color with diet were published.  Presuming older males are more experienced at finding, recognizing, and competing for food, younger and older males, even though they feed together, may not have identical diets.  This explains why mixed colors would appear in the same flock.
Some studies have shown that stress in house finches interfered with metabolism involved with converting carotenoid in the finches' diet to make feathers red.  Stress was introduced as forced overpopulation in the study and this resulted in more orange and yellow in that male house finch population compared with a control population.  Other studies have indicated that red pigmentation is an "honest signal of health and condition" of the male.

 

Finches