How do you attract woodpeckers to an upside down house suet feeder?. I recently replaced a cage suet feeder to an upside down feeder as a result of blackbirds & grackles taking over it and devouring the feed.
Since you mention Grackles I assume you live in the US. This is mainly a UK site so I'm not sure whether we can help.
Where abouts do you live in the US. Do you get woodpeckers in the vicinity and what species. From webcams that I've watched in the northeast of the US the most frequent visitors seem to be Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers. They seem to prefer vertical log type feeders which simulate a more usual way of feeding. SEE HERE. I'm not familiar with upside down feeders so I don't know how effective they would be.
Sorry not much help.
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Tony
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I've only seen the Cornell feeders webcam (New York State I think), but a 3rd species Striated (possibly!) also uses the vertical log feeder
A belated response but I live in Quebec and can relate to your experience. Upside down suet feeders can help to deter Grackles and Red Winged Black birds but Grackles are highly intelligent, persistent and agile and it doesn't take them long to figure out how to cling to the grill on the underside long enough to grab or dislodge a few chunks of suet. Hanging the feeder as high as possible and away from anything they can use as a platform to get a better position on the feeder will reduce their success rate but you won't eliminate them completely. I once tried hanging chains around mine but it had no benefit - the grackles used the chains for added support ! Actually I acheived much better results with a home made log suet feeder - used a length of 4X4 and drilled the suet plug holes on one side only. The other sides and corners I sanded smooth. When hung horizontally with the holes facing down, woodpeckers and nuthatches could cling to the underside (I made some cross cuts between the holes also for grip) but Grackles, Blackbirds, Starlings and House Sparrows could not cling at all. Some people use feeders inside a cage to exclude larger birds but I prefer not. Even if Grackles cannot get at the feeder they will hang around picking up whatever falls to the ground and harass other birds, preventing them from feeding. This can be a real problem if they nest close by and have fledglings to look out for. So I now take my suet feeders down in the spring, when Grackles start to arrive, and don't put them back up until the first frosts in the fall. Woodpeckers don't need suet in the warmer months. I also don't want to to attract Pileated Woodpeckers to my yard when the insects most active in the trees. Over the summer I also switch from black oil sunflower seed to safflower seed, which 'nuisance birds', along with squirrels do not like. For the finches I offer a blend of finely graded sunflower chips and nyjer seed served in a tube feeder without any 'seed catch tray' attached underneath..This combined strategy has proved effective at deterring Grackles during the peak season; fortunately most have moved on by September. I don't get many Red-Winged Blackbirds; they prefer the lower moist lands close to streams and I'm at a higher elevation. Thankfully few House Sparrows also. Flocks (murmurs) of Starlings occasionally pass through late fall to early spring but they don't linger. If the situation gets out of control and you are overrun with 'nuisance birds' taking down your feeders for a period may be the best or only solution. This information was probably more helpful to you in July, but I hope it's useful nonetheless.