> On (04 Apr 98) Brenda Crawford wrote to all...
 >  BC> Does anyone know how to get rid of black birds without doing
 >    > harm to other bird species.  The black birds around here are
 >    > awful. And there are hundreds of them.  They take the seed
 >    > I put out for the other birds and also scare away the other
 >    > birds.  I really hate these pests.
 >    >  Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 > Nothing constructive. I get lots of blackbirds, but
 > they're
 > never in my feeder. They go for the bread I throw out.
 > Maybe you
 > should get some mockingbirds tho. I get a kick out of
 > watching
 > them drive off the blackbirds. The mockingbirds never
 > go for the
 > seed, they just don't want the blackbirds around. It
 > looks like
 > Snoopy and the Red Baron, seeing them "fight" in the
 > air. It
 > really isn't a fight, since the mockingbirds are on
 > the attack
 > and the blackbirds are running away.
That won't work, the black birds outnumber the mockingbirds both in numbers 
and size  .  Come to think of it, I haven't seen any mockingbirds around 
my bird feeders.  Looks like the black birds may have chased them out, too.  
The black birds seem to know me by sight, because when the feeders are empty, 
they watch for me to fill them and then swarm when I leave.  (smart-aleck 
birds!!((g)))
 > The mockingbirds don't bother the cardinals or doves.
 > They just
 > hate the blackbirds.
 > BTW: There was an article in the paper a couple weeks
 > ago,
 > saying that a birdfeeder should be occasionally washed
 > out with
 > hot soapy water and chlorine. It said that birds have
 > been
 > dying from salmonella poisoning from contaminated bird
 > feeders.
 > Jimvee
 > ... Hummingbirds never remember the words to the song
 > ___Messenger V1.2 [Reg]
 > --- PPoint 2.05
 > 46.5)
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