Mockingbird Bullying at Bird Feeders: Territorial Solutions

Mockingbirds fiercely defend territory around feeders, chasing away other birds. They claim the feeder area as their own.

Deterrent Strategies

• Move the feeder 20+ feet away—may fall outside the mockingbird’s territory.
• Add multiple feeders spaced far apart—mockingbird can’t defend all simultaneously.
• Use feeder styles mockingbirds dislike (e.g., tube feeders with small perches).
• Offer foods they don’t prefer (they like suet, fruit, mealworms; less interested in nyjer).

Persistence and redistribution usually reduce the bullying.

Mockingbird guarding a feeder.