What would you do? Please help!

[tameblackbirds]

Unless the birds are really making a noise and a mess I don't see that your neighbor has a legitimate complaint. You really need to log what is happening for at least a couple of weeks and present claim to council. In the mean time do not get into any confrontation with your neighbor. Log if you do.

[Jason Green]

That makes sense, that he'd bang even without a bird in sight. Probably just to try and annoy you, which I suspect has been his intention all along with the birds being a cover for his anti-social ways. Sounds like a case for an ASBO! Log all times, occurences, etc. If the banging is for a persistant period of time I'd be tempted to use a camcorder discretely - evidence collation and all that!

[snowdrop]

What miserable lives some people live. Personally I think the situation is all about control. The ''look at me... I'm somebody to be reckoned with'' syndrome.
I'd take care not to stray feed the birds with bread but move your feeders closer to your home. I did and now washing dishes is a pleasure, though sometimes it takes a long while, what with the distraction of bird antics.

Who knows, your neighbours, like mine, may change their attitude at some future date. ( though why he has surrounded his feeders with barbed wire and fitted bare-nailed slats along the nearby fence, I'll never know!)

[Elean0r]

"What would you do?"

Apart from feeling very uncomfortable that my neighbours were being so horrible about something so ordinary as feeding garden birds I'd try to talk to them again and perhaps agree to only feed birds using a feeder so that larger birds wouldn't be obviously attrtacted to my garden.

I know it doesn't work that way, because pigeons will still land and eat up the bits that fall to the ground, but it'll show you're making a serious effort to resolve things.

If that didn't work I'd go to the CAB and find out about community mediation provision in my area - it's always free of charge.

Please be very careful not to take pictures of their washing. One of our neighbours found themselves talking to the police after taking a picture of some plants in their own garden, they hadn't even noticed the washing in the background - which belonged to a rather difficult neighbour whose first response is always to make an official complaint.

[solus]

Originally Posted by snowdrop

( though why he has surrounded his feeders with barbed wire and fitted bare-nailed slats along the nearby fence, I'll never know!)

Probably trying to keep cats and/or squirrels away.

[Hedera]

Just occured to me - are there neighbours on his other side? if so, are they getting grief as well? The banging on shed roof etc. would annoy me. Anyway, with the weather changing they won't want to put washing out so much hopefully! Can't imagine the mentality of these people; they need a HOBBY!