Hi all I desperately need advice please I have a bird feeder with biggish holes that I put Suet balls in and I get an array of birds on there and my favourite the great spotted woodpecker more than one I go through a lot of these suet balls which I don’t mind as I could stand by the window all day and watch the birds feeding , but the last week or so I have had magpies and jackdaws on there and they are eating all the suet balls could I please have some advice as to how to stop this as I want to desperately keep feeding my smaller birds and my woodpeckers but not those larger birds ?????
Pete
Birding is for everyone no matter how good or bad we are at it,enjoy it while you can
I'll also share Pete's concerns regarding your email being used as your user name. You can change it by accessing your profile and typing in a new user name.
As for the suet ball feeder, there really isn't anything you can do. Feeders are basically a free-for-all scenario, and the only way to stop the larger birds is to totally remove the feeder(s).
You may be able to get a suet ball feeder with what's called a squirrel guard, but in my experience, the smaller birds don't like the guard and tend to stay away.
I wouldn't recommend placing anything around the feeder(s) to restrict access, because the restrictive material could come adrift and cause undue suffering, or even death to feeding birds!
Mike
Flickr: Peak Rambler