Re: Mourning Dove/Cowbird Problem

"George" <pyde_piperSKIPTHIS@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:Nc%bg.898$pI6.4006@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I always like it when someone says "it doesn't hurt them." Remember when
Pres. Johnson used to hold up his beagle by the ears? Perhaps you'd like to
round up while someone takes aim with the Crosman Stinger P30 and then get
back to me?

Jan Owen wrote:

What you don't know, but Howard does, is just how much testing I did to
ensure I would NOT injure even the birds I don't like, BEFORE I ever
actually shot at one.

What you also don't know is that I am a VERY good shot (with many decades of
target and other shooting sports competition experience), so with an
accurate gun, I can place my shots where I want them. I only hit these
birds in their tail feathers, unless they are at extreme distances. At the
longer ranges where the accuracy falls off, I won't shoot if there is a
chance they will be hit in the head. Anywhere else, and it is just a
nuisance. These are NOT metal BB's. These are large diameter, lightweight,
partially hollow PLASTIC bb's fired from a low velocity pistol.

It is not impossible to injure a bird at very close range with this
equipment, but given the testing I have done, and the minimum shooting
distances I have established in a fixed area, the odds are quite small.

If, after the above, you don't believe me, you're free to killfile me...

--
Jan Owen

To reach me directly, remove the Z, if one appears in my e-mail address...
Latitude: 33.6
Longitude: -112.3

"David G Fisher" <davegf@xxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:eeadnYjjkY5v8O3ZnZ2dnUVZ_tCdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Are you really sure they are chasing off other birds??

Every day for years now, I have mourning doves and a *very* large variety
of other birds (and squirrels) at my feeders. Never once have I seen a
mourning dove or cowbird (or starlings) scare off any birds. Not a single
time. Squirrels don't bother them either. They all just share the
feeders, and the ground under them.

Either I have the friendliest birds in the country, or it may be that
people get an idea in their head that certain birds are a problem, and
then they see what they want to see.

Dave (Southern NJ)



In my experience, mourning doves mostly wander around looking for food on
the ground, but they will get into any hanging feeder that offers perches
wide enough to accomodate them. Same with white wing doves. And they
flail around, chase each other, fly into each other, and raise such hell
that most other birds just back away in despair. On the ground, the
doves will also chase other birds away, and make such a commotion that
other birds won't come near...

Howard and I have dealt with that with the X-1 feeders. The dome can be
lowered to the point where the doves can't get in. And the dome won't
let them land on top of it, either. They just slide off flapping wildly,
and looking stupid (which they seem to be anyway)...

Again, Howard pointed me in the direction of the X-1, and it was very
helpful in allowing me to keep the craziness away from at least ONE
feeder, which allowed me to coax in the cardinals, cactus wrens, and
curved-bill thrashers that otherwise tend to stay clear of all the
insanity of the house finches (which the X-1 will NOT keep out, unless
you lower the dome so far NOTHING can get in, and would also keep out all
the birds I want IN it)...

An aha in Howard's last posting is that there is now a "Dorothy's
Cardinal Feeder" which appears to be an X-1 on steroids... HMMMMM!!! A
little pricey, but my cardinals might appreciate it more... Still won't
keep out the little finch hellions, but should be just like the X-1, only
larger, giving the cardinals a little more room to move around inside...

Here's my X-1 with my secondary seed saver (to keep falling seeds from
the X-1 off the ground where they attract pigeons and doves) I installed
underneath:

http://image40.webshots.com/40/1/47/99/332914799nnqZLw_fs.jpg

As for cowbirds, they are only VERY rare visitors to my yard, and I am
thankful for that. I have never seen them chase anything away, but
there's never more than one here at a time, so it's always badly
outnumbered. Starlings, unfortunately, can be more frequent, and I have a
Crosman Stinger P30 for them, and for pigeons, and whitewings. Doesn't
hurt them unless used at VERY close range, but it's accurate, and worries
the hell out of them...


--
- Peace,George

..... and if you want to know why we're in the mess we're in
READ "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins
ISBN 0-452-28708-1

N 37°49'37.31
W 122°25'24.04


.

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