I sit out in the garden a lot, and for all their beauty, the azaleas and crape Myrtis, hog plums and cherries are quickly ignored if a brilliant red cardinal starts slashing about in the birdbath. And with there outrageous songs and demonstrated fearlessness, I love mockingbirds; right up to the point they dive-bomb my dogs and build nests in my muscadines.
Does anyone out there have techniques not just to encourage birds, but how to manage aggressive or harmful birds?

Bigger dogs?

Creating habitat for birds is a whole way of gardening. There is lot of information available online, or check with local nurseries or your county Cooperative Extension office.
Here, just having water available brings in a lot of birds--and other visitors. Native plants, and plants that provide food and shelter also help a lot.
More "aggressive" or "undesirable" birds are just part of the big picture. We can't fine-tune Mother Nature to get just what WE want. The birds work it out, and I hope we can learn to appreciate the diversity and habits of different creatures.

Natural habitat isn't the issue; I live far enough in the sticks that I have to drive 10 miles to make it to nowhere☺️. It is the unnatural habitats I have created that seem to be preferred by the mockingbirds.


I put this little pond and birdbath in, mostly for honey bee's but the birds love splashing around in it. But the danged ole mockingbirds will hang out driving off all the doves, cardinals, woodpeckers, cowbirds, sparrows, etc. The only birds that can standup to the mockingbirds are Brown Thrashers, which are just about the same as mockingbirds! Fun to watch but I miss the diversity.

purpleinopp said: Bigger dogs?

Unless they start eating the birds, I can't afford to feed bigger dogs😅.

Awww, they look sweet. : ) And ready for a drink. I didn't have any suggestions, so a little humor was all I could offer.

Mockingbirds can be very aggressive, towards other birds and even people! Could you set up another bird bath in another part of the yard?

gardenfish said: Mockingbirds can be very aggressive, towards other birds and even people! Could you set up another bird bath in another part of the yard?

Not a bad idea! I put that in as a water source for bee's (so they didn't stray to neighbors pools and hot-tubs) then gradually built a little park around it. In retrospect, I probably don't want the bees and grandkids hanging out together so I can just dig a Lilly pond out closer to the bees! Thanks Gardenfish!

You're very welcome! I've also seen a male mocker take up residence in a particular yard and run off all the other mockers that come to it. I've had mockers do that in my yard. I still love them, anyway.

I had to slow down on my way home yesterday because a mockingbird was chasing a squirrel across the street. It looked like the squirrel was hauling-a to get away.

I have watched a bald eagle feverishly trying to shake two MB's pulling out it's tail feathers.

I see them chasing crows or ravens often. Not sure which at those speeds. I wish they would chase away the stray cats but that's probably biting off more than they can chew.

i agree with bird baths.

this year i got rid of traditional bird feeders, added bird baths, one with a solar fountain ( $10 on amazon) and added hummingbird feeders.

It's a lot less expense, the squirrels aren't digging up my flower beds. instead of constant bickering by a couple bullies, I have a lot of transient visitors all day long. i really enjoy it more. especially the hummingbirds. one thing I made sure to do, is none of my bird baths or hummingbird feeders are in direct sight line of each other so there's always a welcoming spot somewhere.

I answered this before but it somehow got deleted...

i love having birds in my garden, but i've found that traditional bird feeders are a disaster. i have two dogs like yours and the squirrels would make them nuts at dawn. i was overwhelmed with house sparrows that nested and pooped everywhere..

the solution for me was to ditch the feeders and put up 2 birdbaths, and 4 single outlet hummingbird feeders. I LOVE ❤️ how peaceful my yard has become, I have a much greater variety of birds that visit, and almost no fights. they don't stay as long in a bird bath, but there is no aggression and everyone comes to my yard

you have to clean the baths often, every 3rd day, but I just spray it out with the hose.

i do plant some flowers specifically to attract birds.. Asters and bachelor button are super easy to grow from seed and finches love both. I love my hummingbirds, even though they're total jerks and will harass away full grown blue jays to say nothing of what they do to each other..

all in, I prefer constant short visits for a sip of water.. every day I see every bird for a second. i enjoy the clean water bird bath visitors much more than I ever enjoyed the bird feeder that was expensive, aggressive and mostly house sparrows anyway.