Hi again, Linda,
Well, I was leery of posting an official answer because it might
disappoint you, but I decided a fellow bird lover would reasonably
appreciate and understand the challenges of your predicament.
My first thought when I read your question was 'why on earth would she
WANT these types of birds within 10 miles of her property." Then I
realized that my man and I often have 'discussions' about our birds.
He likes the little or colourful ones and begrudges the food taken by
the plain jane starlings, etc. I like them all, and have noticed that
the larger the bird, the less aggression at the feeders. My little
finches and yup, even my hummingbirds, will fight each other like the
dickens to control the feeders. The jays, starlings and blackbirds
wait patiently, take turns graciously, and generally entertain me with
their most excellent mannerisms.
That being said, if you WANT sea gulls, crows, pigeons, and geese,
it's your call, no matter that searches on Google inevitably turn up
pages which cast them in a negative light as pests, with a capital P.
Most of what I've found are articles about how to DETER these birds
from your property.
But can you get what you want?
From what I've read during my Web surfing, you might have a real
problem attracting crows and pigeons both. It's quite possible that
your pigeons are being harassed by the crows or are suffering from
intimidation by their presence.
See the following two webpages for articles concerning this:
Menagerie Magazine 08/2000 - Kids 'n Pets
http://www.menagerie.on.ca/kids.html
There's a similar crow vs. pigeons here. Scroll down a bit to find it.
"On Monday morning, 4/10, I saw one of the crows raid a nearby pigeon
nest. He/she scared the pigeons off the nest..."
Observation Logs, Texas, USA The American Crow, Corvus ...
http://www.crows.net/texlogs.html
Another thing to consider is that while pigeons mightn't eat dog food
(like your crows), crows aren't so picky and might be scarfing up your
pigeon food. Following is a list of foods preferred (but not limited
to) the birds you mentioned in your original question:
Insects in grass fields and pond edges - gulls, crows
Worms - gulls, crows
Fish - gulls
Mice/voles - gulls
Small birds - pigeons
Crops (corn, grains) - pigeons, crows
Garbage - gulls, crows
Carrion - crows
Sharing the Skies Manual
http://www.tc.gc.ca/CivilAviation/Aerodrome/WildlifeControl/tp13549/Chapter3/Chapter3f.htm
Here's an interesting article about crows and some odd diet choices:
Food and Feeding Habits of the American Crow, Corvus ...
http://www.crows.net/food.html
Here's a caution that you might want to consider -- the viruses these
birds carry. "... the West Nile-like virus in New York... virus was
first isolated and identified by the CDC in late September in birds
that died in and around New York City. The virus has since been
isolated from a number of dead crows and other birds, including 34
crows and one pigeon... virus is transmitted through the bite of a
mosquito that has picked up the virus by feeding on an infected bird.
Ticks which may infest your birds are probably capable of transmitting
the virus as well. Birds, therefore, play a significant role in the
life cycle of this virus."
Press Release
http://www.state.nj.us/agriculture/news/p91014a.htm
If you're in an urban area, you could run into problems with
neighbours who do not appreciate pigeons -- which are noted for their
'poopiness' (the pigeons, not the neighbours), leaving droppings all
over everything. The same problem is associated with geese. Just go
for a walk in a park that is a goose hangout to see what a slippery
trip that can be. Have you a pond or creek or other water body on your
property? If not, you're apt to attract neither goose nor gander.
I did a search for "pigeon poop" and the only results I got back were
for variations of a recipe by the same name. Just in case you're
interested:
Pigeon Poop
5 cups peanut butter crunch cereal
3 cups rice krispies
2 cups pretzels
2 lbs. of white chocolate
2 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl.
Melt white chocolate in double boiler.
Pour over dry ingredients and spread out on wax paper to cool.
Break into chunks.
Pigeon Poop
http://cstitcher.tripod.com/hrecipes/pp.html
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming about pigeon droppings.
Pigeon Droppings pose health risks
http://www.ku.edu/carrie/archives/heritage/2000/12.2/msg00002.html
DNA typing suggests pigeon droppings as a source of pathogenic ...
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=230039&rendertype=abstract
Managing Bird Droppings and bird feces
http://www.wildlifedamagecontrol.com/birddroppings.htm
And in general, bird poop:
Bird Diseases
http://www.crittercontrol.com/birddiseases.htm
I've found plenty of pages which tell us how NOT to attract pigeons.
My best advice to you is to do the opposite of what the experts
recommend. Even if the pigeons don't come back, you are making it
easier for them to do so if they want to.
Pigeons
http://www.birdfeeding.org/pigeons_faq.html
According to the next website, "Pigeons do not need your help to
survive. They are very adaptable and are capable of finding food in an
urban environment... PLEASE DO NOT FEED PIGEONS."
ADC - Pest Control Services - Pigeons
http://www.ashfield-dc.gov.uk/community/environment/env_health/env_pest_control_pigeons.shtml
These websites provide some interesting information about the likes
and dislikes of a variety of birds.
Liberty Wildlife | Wildlife Emergency and Care
http://www.libertywildlife.org/urgent_wildlifeissues.html
Not just birds can be attracted to your yard, but this webpage's main
focus is on our feathered friends:
Attracting Wildlife
http://www.wildamerica.com/pages/show6.html
Landscape: Feeding the Birds
http://www.uwex.edu/ces/wihort/landscape/FeedingBirds.htm
Now to sea gulls. Short of having a good water source for seafood or a
Burger King, Mickey Ds, Taco Bell, Fish & Chips Shoppe, Pizza Hut, any
restaurant with a patio or restaurant with accessible garbage bins, or
a landfill site on your property, I doubt you can tempt them to visit,
even though Springfield is located on the Connecticut River.
Despite all the bad news I've provided, you can take solace in the
fact that there are so darned many types of birds which will provide
you with hours of watching pleasure.
Bird Gardens -- Welcoming Wild Birds to Your Yard
http://www.bbg.org/gar2/topics/wildlife/handbooks/birds/1.html
Birding in Massachusetts
http://larsonweb.org/birds/
This is an excellent resource for learning about birds and appropriate feeders.
Topics include what bird feeders to use, what to feed birds, and FAQs
about bird-feeding.
About Birds & Bird Feeding
http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/abtbirds_index.html
Topic: Attracting Particular Birds.
http://birdcare.com/bin/showencyclopedia?attracting+particular+birds
Please ask for further clarification if you feel inclined to do so
before you rate this answer. :)
Tomorrow I'm going to make some pigeon poop for my grandsons while my
birds flitter around outside my windows. It promises to be an
enjoyable day for me and I wish you the same.
Regards,
revbrenda1st
P.S. -- Check out the whole of http://www.crows.net
What a great site about these intelligent and interesting birds with
information provided by people who are absolutely charmed by them!
Search strategy:
attracting pigeons
://www.google.ca/search?q=attracting+pigeons&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&meta=
Crows eat pigeons
://www.google.ca/search?q=Crows+eat+pigeons&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
eating habits crows
://www.google.ca/search?q=eating+habits+crows&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
pigeon feeding habits
://www.google.ca/search?q=pigeon+feeding+habits&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
Springfield Massachusetts
://www.google.ca/search?q=Springfield+Massachusetts&btnG=Google+Search&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
pigeon droppings
://www.google.ca/search?q=pigeon+droppings&btnG=Google+Search&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
attracting wild birds Massachusetts
://www.google.ca/search?q=attracting+wild+birds+Massachusetts&btnG=Google+Search&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
bird feeders
://www.google.ca/search?q=bird+feeders&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
bird feces
://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=bird+feces&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
pigeon habitats
://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=pigeon+habitats&btnG=Google+Search&meta= |
