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Bird Table Etiquette. (1 Viewer)

Fat Rat

Well-known member
Hi All

As per usual Sunday morning telly was a load of tosh so I decided to stand at the back kitchen door and watch the feeders and a funny pattern started to emerge.
After a while I noticed a feeding pecking order, the poor old Collared Doves who have been coming here the longest have started being pushed aside by everything from the blue tits to the pigeons, so much for good table manners.

After a bit longer the goldfinches came to lunch and were promptly set upon by the blue tits who came flying in like the R.A.F and chased them off, fearless little birds aren't they.

The Collared Doves then turned to the bird table only to be turfed off by the starlings, they looked so fed up at keep being pushed out, the only bird not to get involved was the Blackbird who just flew in got what he wanted and flew off again.

My conclusion is that if you have good grace and perfect table manners you will be set upon by one and all like the Collared Doves, if you dress for dinner like the goldfinches you will be chased off by fearless blue tits, if you make a racket and just take over the dinner table like the starlings you will always get your fill and for the perfect take away you need to be the Blackbird.

I now feel really sorry for school dinner ladies!!! |:p|
 
Fat Rat said:
Hi All
After a while I noticed a feeding pecking order, the poor old Collared Doves who have been coming here the longest have started being pushed aside by everything from the blue tits to the pigeons, so much for good table manners.
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FR, Hi!,

You can see a clear pecking order especially when you have feeders with six ports. The dominant birds always feed at the top, where the freshest food is likely to be found. Goldfinches like to feed sociably all together as do our Bullfinches. They also give the lie to books which state they are shy birds. It seems to me they all adapt to their surroundings pretty quickly. Our Siskins and Long Tailed Tits seem happy to feed in groups too. Greenfinches spend more time squabbling than feeding as do starlings. They really have no table manners!

The Robin will spend ages looking around and weighing things up before diving in. Then he cuts and runs, but he misses out on a lot of food by being so cautious. Strangely he doesn't seem to have the same caution with the bringer of Mealworms!! Robins and Blackbirds are happier feeding early or late when it is quieter (i.e. before the starlings arrive from the city or after they have gone to roost). Our Blackcaps too seem to come when it is quiet and as you say the Collared Doves get pushed around, especially by the Wood Pigeons, who descend en masse with wings frantically flapping. Our garden some mornings is like an international airport where the air traffic controller has gone on strike without warning!!

Blue Tits and Great Tits seem to kow tow to no-one. They just continue feeding all day come what may. The GS Woodpeckers here are learning to head butt the starlings as competition for the peanut cake with insects is fierce.

However, the over all boss in our garden is the Sparrowhawk, who arrives without invitation, in a hurry, and grabs a takeaway, often leaving his/her litter on the way out.

What a lovely way to spend a few hours. I have to get up early in the morning to feed them all, so :gn:
 
Extremely interesting observations - my Blue/Coal/Great tits don't bully anyone and are if anything very nervous.

Collared doves are far too polite and always volounteer for lookout duty.
Jackdaws are all mouth and no trousers.

Starlings don't bully but get their way by being confident.

The bullies are the Sparrows - batter their way in to the feeders like a gang of chavs.

Mr & Mrs Blackcap patiently wait & wait.

Blackbirds don't get involved as they have worked out how to use my suet feeder and pick up the debris from the sparrows.
 
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