I have a lot of Starlngs but have not been too much of a problem until yesterday when they discovered they could get inside my squirrel proof feeder (which I had thought was starling proof!) and in one day have emptied it and strewn food underneath for the Woodpigeons to eat. I put out food all around the garden for the ground feeders so that the mess is not concentrated in one place. Any ideas on the best type of feeder to deter them?
It's not always easy to hug a hedgehog.
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't.
Thanks bramble67
I will hold off buying a larger nyger feeder for now and just keep up the little red mini ones.I will fill another of my feeders with just sunflower seeds and see what happens!
Rachel
A feeder with a Sparrowhawk sitting on top of it, LOL!
In all serious though...
I've found if a Starling wants to get on it, they will - and they can be very determined with it! Although I too have a (new style) Guardian feeder and they can't get on it, I've watched Starlings spend a good 5-10 minutes going all the way round it and getting very frustrated. Only to give up in the end.
A slightly cheaper alternative would be standard seed feeders, I have never seen a Starling on one unless it has a tray attached.
I too can contribute to the disused feeder pile! I have 2 shelves in the greenhouse with various feeders on that have been made redundant, I daren't add up the cost!
Sarah - I too have used the perch rings on one of my feeders. I actually got to about 5 weeks on no use on it until I took them off and now my Sparrows will eat happily off it. They do get used to it after a while and if one manages it successfully they all give it a go :o)
Hi all,
Just thought I'd say that I've found a solution that kinda works quite well here now which you may be interested in.
In order, their favourite foods seemed to be Mealworms, Suet Pellets, then Fat Cakes. We had to stop putting out Mealworms and Pellets because they were demolished in a very short space of time leaving none for other species and also it was very expensive!
But we were on to something with the Fat Cakes, especially if they contained mealworm! :) On two trays on our feeder pole, we now put out Fat Candles, Fat Cakes, Fat Balls etc. and all at the same time. While they do still explore the other feeders, they do so rarely and in much smaller numbers, allowing other bird varieties access to these. As long as we dont put out mealworms or pellets for them on the other feeders, they don't seem very interested. Also, I've installed a bird bath too which they adore and that distracts them too.
As a result, while we still get a large amount of Starlings, they feed all throughout the day rather than all at once. It's also much cheaper to buy the different varieties of Fat Cakes and they last longer. It has also had a great effect on our other species. Since starting to manage the Starlings in this way, we now get regular visits from Sparrows (Just as many as the Starlings! lol), Great Tits and Blue Tits (which they wouldn't before) and Robins too.
So in effect, find out what they like that's cheap for you and lasts. buy and put out loads of it, then avoid putting out food they like more for the other birds. I'm not saying this will necessary work for you but it definitely has here!
Hope this helps.
Regards
Steve
I won't be happy until I've got a penguin down :)