It's not Fair!

Thanks all, some good ideas here. We'll have to re-think feeding methods - we're only beginners since moving here in town 2 years ago.
Callistemon - I know about the thieving magpies. They used to steal our chicken's eggs when we lived in the country.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbGZm8sJuyI&pbjreload=10

Magpies will eat eggs from the nests of other birds, and fledgings too.
We don't encourage them

We've got the hanging bird feeders and the pigeons seem to be happy with what drops from them on to the ground.

However, DH fitted the small water container onto the stand the other day and a pigeon found he could stand on it and reach the seed in the hanging container. So that had to be moved down.
As long as they have nothing to stand on they don't seem to use the cylindrical feeders.

We do have rooks (or jackdaws) now, never used to, and seagulls but they are not so keen to land.

Feeders with squirrel guards are effective at keeping the pigeons and worse still, jackdaws, out.

Jackdaws make a dreadful racket when the fledgelings demand to be fed. Won't be long before I'll be swearing about the ******* just after dawn.

We used to have a bird table - the ones like a little house with open sides.
My husband constructed it so that the roof extended beyond the table and the gaps around the sides were perfect for little birds but pigeons weren't able to get through. It worked a treat. They used to sit on the roof and peer over at the small birds tucking in!

We had to get rid of it when rats became regular visitors!

I have lots of greedy pigeons in my garden, and I get the same problem. My husband took the roof off the bird table and lowered it so that the pigeons can't get in. (I leave food on the ground for them)