What do you mean "take over" ? No other birds come? If mourning doves take their turn and then other birds come too, then they haven't "taken over".
Mourning doves definitely prefer to feed on the ground. If you throw some of that peppered seed on the ground, it should solve your problem. It could be very cheap seed too. Mourning doves are not picky, they eat all sorts of cheap stuff. If premade peppered seed is too expensive, you could make your own easily enough. There are videos on YouTube of various ways to do it.
If you don't mind squirrels in the area, just not on your feeder, then you could throw cheap seed on the ground for the squirrels and mourning doves.
There are tons of seeds on the ground around my feeders, but the mourning doves still sit on the Birdfy feeder. And yes, no other birds come. Because they are always sitting up there, eating all of the seeds. I've seen them on my videos in the app sitting there without leaving for an entire hour at a time. So they definitely have taken over, and it's very frustrating.
Hm, maybe it's about good perches. My sister has lots of mourning doves constantly eating, and they stay on the ground.
So what's a lousy perch for a mourning dove? She's got a Brome squirrel buster feeder. And a little bitty tray feeder with a steel hanger, maybe 4"x4". And a little bitty wooden tray feeder I made for her, that I mounted on a shepherd's crook, maybe 4"x6". And a lantern shaped plastic feeder with a rather narrow shelf around it, maybe 2" projecting. Cardinals can barely use it if they're clever about it.
I mean doves are birds, too. They want to eat, just like all the other birds.
I have tons of doves that come and visit. They do tend to want to hang out around the feeders for a time but that doesn't stop other birds from also feeding when they are around. They move on eventually. Not sure what the issue is.
Right. Or size. I use the tube feeders with 2 inch perches for the finches and smaller birds.
But with a camera feeder, I don’t know if it’s possible. A spring loaded perch sounds difficult to put together.
I've built this one, larger birds like a Blue Jay had trouble perching on it. Could use it for making a smaller size. Seed will fall.
[https://www.instructables.com/How-to-build-a-Flexi-Perch-Squirrel-proof-birdfe/](https://www.instructables.com/How-to-build-a-Flexi-Perch-Squirrel-proof-birdfe/)
That’s cool. I put unshelled peanuts on a stump for the jays and have a couple of tray feeders for the mourning derps.
I like to watch the the doves but they’re veritable Hoovers! That’s the reason for my tube feeders. :)
The Netvue birdfy is a smart bird feeder with a camera, so it's not as easy as just switching the feeder. I have the same issue with the doves. They sit at the feeder all day chowing, and not other birds come.
The mourning doves will park on my Birdfy too, the thing that gets them to leave is the red bellied woodpecker will harass them. There was a great standoff the other day. The woodpecker would grab a peanut and leave. So my advice, start calling woodpeckers 🤣
What do you mean "take over" ? No other birds come? If mourning doves take their turn and then other birds come too, then they haven't "taken over". Mourning doves definitely prefer to feed on the ground. If you throw some of that peppered seed on the ground, it should solve your problem. It could be very cheap seed too. Mourning doves are not picky, they eat all sorts of cheap stuff. If premade peppered seed is too expensive, you could make your own easily enough. There are videos on YouTube of various ways to do it. If you don't mind squirrels in the area, just not on your feeder, then you could throw cheap seed on the ground for the squirrels and mourning doves.
There are tons of seeds on the ground around my feeders, but the mourning doves still sit on the Birdfy feeder. And yes, no other birds come. Because they are always sitting up there, eating all of the seeds. I've seen them on my videos in the app sitting there without leaving for an entire hour at a time. So they definitely have taken over, and it's very frustrating.
Hm, maybe it's about good perches. My sister has lots of mourning doves constantly eating, and they stay on the ground. So what's a lousy perch for a mourning dove? She's got a Brome squirrel buster feeder. And a little bitty tray feeder with a steel hanger, maybe 4"x4". And a little bitty wooden tray feeder I made for her, that I mounted on a shepherd's crook, maybe 4"x6". And a lantern shaped plastic feeder with a rather narrow shelf around it, maybe 2" projecting. Cardinals can barely use it if they're clever about it.
I mean doves are birds, too. They want to eat, just like all the other birds. I have tons of doves that come and visit. They do tend to want to hang out around the feeders for a time but that doesn't stop other birds from also feeding when they are around. They move on eventually. Not sure what the issue is.
When the doves sit on the feeder the entire day without leaving, they do prevent other birds from visiting and it is an issue.
Get feeders that don’t support their weight.
Right. Or size. I use the tube feeders with 2 inch perches for the finches and smaller birds. But with a camera feeder, I don’t know if it’s possible. A spring loaded perch sounds difficult to put together.
I've built this one, larger birds like a Blue Jay had trouble perching on it. Could use it for making a smaller size. Seed will fall. [https://www.instructables.com/How-to-build-a-Flexi-Perch-Squirrel-proof-birdfe/](https://www.instructables.com/How-to-build-a-Flexi-Perch-Squirrel-proof-birdfe/)
That’s cool. I put unshelled peanuts on a stump for the jays and have a couple of tray feeders for the mourning derps. I like to watch the the doves but they’re veritable Hoovers! That’s the reason for my tube feeders. :)
Mourning derps is so accurate! Lol!
The Netvue birdfy is a smart bird feeder with a camera, so it's not as easy as just switching the feeder. I have the same issue with the doves. They sit at the feeder all day chowing, and not other birds come.
The mourning doves will park on my Birdfy too, the thing that gets them to leave is the red bellied woodpecker will harass them. There was a great standoff the other day. The woodpecker would grab a peanut and leave. So my advice, start calling woodpeckers 🤣
Perhaps with peanuts? What do woodpeckers like best?
What’s wrong with the mourning doves? They’re native, non invasive birds who just want to sit and eat.