I had a rather upsetting start to my day this morning. While enjoying my first cup of coffee, I glanced out my kitchen window and saw a 
horde of starlings (I call them black birds), swarming all over my bird feeder! Now, I don’t mind if they eat some seeds and suet too. After all, they get hungry just like everything else does. But do they have to eat it ALL and share nothing with their fellow birds? And to add insult to injury, they fight and squabble until they drive away all the beautiful birds I have so patiently worked to attract to my feeder; cardinals, finches and various woodpeckers, to name a few.
I first started bird feeding when my son Jason, his wife Christy and my granddaughter Portia gave me several different feeders and lots of seeds and suet for Mother’s Day last year. They even provided a color coded book detailing all the different birds common to the area where I live. It was so exciting and enjoyable to watch the various birds that came to feed. I was really having fun!
Then one morning after we had an ice storm followed by a couple inches of snow, the starlings discovered my feeder! They didn’t just eat; they devoured every single morsel, leaving nothing for the cardinals, woodpeckers or other pretty birds that would normally come to feed.
Needless to say, I was extremely upset. I even threatened to buy a pellet rifle and shoot them all!! I wouldn’t really; that was just anger talking. Besides, Jason, Christy and Portia are such nature enthusiasts, they would probably disown me for harming any of God’s creatures no matter how annoying they are!
Well, now I can’t get rid of the annoying starlings. The woodpeckers have all but disappeared. An occasional cardinal or other small bird will come to grab what they can from the ground under my feeder before the starlings chase them away. My bird feeding experience has lost it’s sparkle!
I really miss all the pretty birds and am looking for a solution to this problem. Jason has given me some suggestions to try and I am going to get started implementing them ASAP. I sure hope they work. If any of you readers have any helpful suggestions for getting rid of these annoying birds, I would greatly appreciate it if you would share them with me. I do so much want my pretty birds back!
Emily
Black birds and starlings sure do have voracious apatites don’t they? You can try a feeder that makes it hard for the larger birds to eat from. You can see them on the link below:
http://www.birdfeeders.com/store/wild-bird-feeders/151
If you look you will notice how close the hole where the bird eats from is to the peg they stand on. This makes is very hard for larger birds to eat from if not impossible. Cardinals and other larger birds have some issues eating from them as well but they tend to be small enough to make it work with a little effort. Them getting a little food is better than none! Your smaller birds like the house finch, chickadee, tufted titmouse, etc will be able to eat with ease from this type of feeder.
For suet feeding a feeder as shown below will help stop the larger birds from eating it.
http://www.duncraft.com/Duncraft-Suet-Sanctuary–P2369C197.aspx
They will still be able to get around the edges of the suet but at least they won’t be able to get it all.
Good luck and I hope you can get these guys under control so you can resume your bird watching!
Thanks for all the great information. Surely something here will help me get my pretty birds back!
Hi Emily, Robbie told me about your website. I am so very impressed by all the work you are doing and I am anxious to try some of your recipes. I am a pretty good cook but unfortunately, cooking is not my forte. You sound like you are having a “marvelous time” with your endeavor. I would love to correspond with you when you have the time. Am so sorry I can’t help you with the birds. I have the same problem with squerrils. Look forward to hearing from you. Love, Joyce