6/23/2023 0 Comments Cat window bird feederPlus, if the bird feeders are too far away you can’t easily enjoy watching the birds. In particular for smaller gardens, it’s inevitable that feeders might be placed relatively close to the house. Minimising the risk of birds flying into house windows The height of feeders from the ground is also important, and should generally be of a height that a cat couldn't jump up to. So the more birds there are, the more likely one will spot an incoming predator and raise the alarm (a defensive call which all garden birds have – albeit different for each species). Grouping feeders together means birds will feed in larger groups and this is essentially a ‘safety in numbers’ thing. So it’s a sensible balance between the two that is needed. The reason for not positioning feeders very far from cover is, whilst this would help minimise the risk of attack from cats, it would increase it for Sparrowhawks because the birds would have further to fly to take safe cover. The ideal is to have the feeders grouped together and not too far from the cover of vegetation, but far enough away so a cat can’t easily pounce. Just like positioning of nest boxes is important, the positioning of bird feeders in your garden has a major bearing on how vulnerable birds are to attack from cats. The water is completely harmless and they will soon learn to avoid the area. Fire a water pistol at cats as they enter the bird feeding area. Erect a low fence around ground feeders to prevent cats pouncing on birds.Instead, place hanging bird feeders within 20m of trees/hedges where the birds can quickly seek safety if they are threatened by predators. It is unwise to place feed on the ground near bushes, where cats can lurk unnoticed. Feed your garden birds! Although this seems ironic, feeding garden birds can actually reduce cat kills, because well-fed birds are not forced to search for food on the ground.Keep cats well fed, so they are less likely to hunt with full determination.Keep cats indoors at dawn and dusk when birds are most vulnerable.Can you stop cats killing birds? - Dealing with cats as predators to garden birdsĬat owners can significantly help to reduce bird kills by cats by taking the following measures: So their numbers could continue to increase even if the bird population were hypothetically to disappear altogether. However, this balance is non-existent in the case of domestic cats, because they are not reliant on their prey for survival. In a statute of nature, a balance between predator and prey exists, whereby the number of predators fall if the prey species diminishes dramatically. That adds up to a truly frightening yearly total of 55 million birds. In fact the RSPB estimated that there are around 9 million cats in our country killing an average of 30 birds each per year. Plus, Sparrowhawks are a stunningly beautiful bird and their appearance in any garden should be seen as a privilege.Ĭats though are a different issue and are the major cause of unnatural bird fatalities in the UK. So although the sight of a sparrowhawk taking a bird from your garden may not be a pleasant one, it shouldn't be seen in a negative way - the sparrowhawk needs to feed just as much as your other garden birds do. They might also meet a man-made hazard such as flying into a house window.Īs far as Sparrowhawks are concerned, their population has been steadily increasing after a serious decline in the 1950s and 60s, and is only now getting back to a reasonable level. A sad fact about feeding the birds in your garden is that some might fall victim to predators the main two being Sparrowhawks and cats.
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