Pigeons will stop bullying robins out of garden if gardeners hang up one simple item

They are the bullies of the garden, barging smaller, hungrier birds out of the way in order to swipe much needed food for themselves.

But if you're sick of pigeons pushing more beloved birds out the way in your garden, there is a way you can deter pigeons from your bird tables without scaring away other birds like robins, tits and finches, say garden experts.

According to garden website Awesome Wildlife, pigeons are easily scared and just creating the illusion of a moving thing will cause them to turn feathers and flock off somewhere else.

Something as simple as a pinwheel near your bird table can stop pigeons from landing and feeding.

It says: "Pigeons are quite notable in that they're commonly referred to as bullies among wild birds.

"This means that they're not afraid to throw their (considerable, to a small bird) weight around to get what they want.

"They'd be happy, for example, to push a bluetit or a similar small bird out of the way in order to reach nuts and seeds.

"We would suggest using tinfoil, or a similarly reflective surface, to create a shining ball or object. Then, allow this object to move a little with the wind - perhaps dangling it on a string, or mounting it on a pinwheel.

"This rapid, flashing movement will distress pigeons, rapidly getting rid of them."

But if you want a more elegant solution, you should look at the kind of feeder you have in your garden.

Instead of using a flat bird table, which pigeons can easily push robins out from, look for a hanging feeder.

It adds: "For example, a bird table is typically the kind of thing that's offered for ground-feeding birds.

"That's the kind of environment that a pigeon might thrive in, as it is likely to be able to simply land on the table and eat as much as it might like.

"In that environment, since pigeons are so large, they also dominate a bird table, meaning that smaller garden birds can't get access to the bird food.

"To prevent pigeons from poaching the food of smaller birds, we'd suggest looking for a hanging feeder.

"Pigeons are too small to stand on the little perches that those bird feeders offer, which means that the best they could do would be to sit underneath the feeder and wait for some seeds to drop."