On my bird feeders

[Peter S A Baker]

I'm thrilled that since moving near to a small cottage near filey, two months ago, and setting up my bird feeders we have the following visitors, Gulls call and fly overhead every morning and the small garden is visited by Tree Sparrows, House Sparrows, Dunnocks, Robins, Wrens, Blue, Great and Coal Tits, Longtailed Tits, Blackbirds, Thrushes, Starlings, and I'll come back to those, Collared Doves, Wood Pidgeons, Magpies, Jackdaws, a Greater Spotted Wood Pecker, Chaffinches, Greenfinches and today a Bullfinch, Pheasants are common close by, a Barn Own traverses the field opposite, Tawny Owls can be hard most nights and Sparrow Hawks and Kestrels are common, I love it! I do have a problem though, its not that I dislike Starlings or any other form of wildlife for that matter, it's just I have too many, twenty to forty Starlings swoop down periodically and empty the feeders and food on the bird tables like marauding World War II Meschasmidts! I don't want not to feed them but at the moment their greed is to the detriment of all the other birds. I have three mixed nut bird feeders up, a peanut feeder, three Niger seed feeders and three bird tables with feeder trays plus three bird baths. Before the Starlings got wind of the food source, the feeders would last three or four days, now they are emptied daily, not the Niger obviously, any suggestions please as to where I might get feeders to 'restrict' the Starlings gluttonous behaviour? Peter.

[htcdude]

Welcome to the site

Wow a great variety of birds!

You could look at some of these:

Squirrel Resistant Feeders

(not necessarily from that site, there are probably cheaper ones)

Nige

[artdemole]

Welcome to Wab with such a poststing list of birds.Those Sparrows could be doing with being attracted away to fatballs and suet cake feeders of their own.Placed further away in the garden may do the trick.

[ashgale]

we used to have the same problem with Starlings, but now we are lucky to see a single Starling let alone a flock of them

i know they can be an expensive visitor to the feeders, but so can woodpigeons and collared doves, we have three large feeders that are filled daily, sometimes even twice daily but the pigeons can empty them in less than an hour,
and we have a resident "horde" of 30 plus house sparrows that can tuck an awful lot of seed away in a short time too,

we have been getting through two 20kg sacks of seed every 2/3 weeks just lately
plus Robin mix and mealworms too !

i think that Starlings are much maligned in some cases, i miss the chortling and wheezes etc that they would make when sat in a nearby tree, and their antics in the garden
but all birds are welcome to our feeders, whatever species they are, (especially our 5 Goldfinches though )

ashgale.

[rossy]

Originally Posted by Peter S A Baker

I'm thrilled that since moving near to a small cottage near filey, two months ago, and setting up my bird feeders we have the following visitors, Gulls call and fly overhead every morning and the small garden is visited by Tree Sparrows, House Sparrows, Dunnocks, Robins, Wrens, Blue, Great and Coal Tits, Longtailed Tits, Blackbirds, Thrushes, Starlings, and I'll come back to those, Collared Doves, Wood Pidgeons, Magpies, Jackdaws, a Greater Spotted Wood Pecker, Chaffinches, Greenfinches and today a Bullfinch, Pheasants are common close by, a Barn Own traverses the field opposite, Tawny Owls can be hard most nights and Sparrow Hawks and Kestrels are common, I love it! I do have a problem though, its not that I dislike Starlings or any other form of wildlife for that matter, it's just I have too many, twenty to forty Starlings swoop down periodically and empty the feeders and food on the bird tables like marauding World War II Meschasmidts! I don't want not to feed them but at the moment their greed is to the detriment of all the other birds. I have three mixed nut bird feeders up, a peanut feeder, three Niger seed feeders and three bird tables with feeder trays plus three bird baths. Before the Starlings got wind of the food source, the feeders would last three or four days, now they are emptied daily, not the Niger obviously, any suggestions please as to where I might get feeders to 'restrict' the Starlings gluttonous behaviour? Peter.

welcome to the forum peter baker, and thats a great variety of birds that are visiting your garden, but whatever you do dont try and stop the starlings, they need your help just as much as the other birds, i have a flock comes into my garden, but what you will find is they wont hang around especially as you have a sparrowhawk in the area, dont forget at this time of the year we dont have a lot of daylight, so birds have got to keep eating for their having a chance of getting through the winter, some might be 1st year birds, and remember starlings are on the decline. rossy.

[Tringa]

Along with putting the cages meant to deter squirrels around your feeders, which definitely work in our garden, try some fat cakes. The starlings in our garden are very keen on the square ones.

Dave

[Billabong Karen]

Wish I had some starlings, havent seen any in the garden for ages.

[Peter S A Baker]

As I said 'I don't not want Starlings' just wish I didn't get that many, I must say though it's lovely to see them in squadrens with their fly pasts just before they go to roost. I have five to eleven (today) Goldfinches come together to the feeders and they are one of my favorites! love your Avatar.
Peter

[Peter S A Baker]

Originally Posted by Tringa

Along with putting the cages meant to deter squirrels around your feeders, which definitely work in our garden, try some fat cakes. The starlings in our garden are very keen on the square ones.

Dave

Thanks, I have fat cakes out but wonder why square to any other shape! I think squirrel deterrant feeders is worth a try.
Peter

[Peter S A Baker]

Originally Posted by rossy

welcome to the forum peter baker, and thats a great variety of birds that are visiting your garden, but whatever you do dont try and stop the starlings, they need your help just as much as the other birds, i have a flock comes into my garden, but what you will find is they wont hang around especially as you have a sparrowhawk in the area, dont forget at this time of the year we dont have a lot of daylight, so birds have got to keep eating for their having a chance of getting through the winter, some might be 1st year birds, and remember starlings are on the decline. rossy.

Thank you for the welcome. Trouble is with the Starlings they are there for most of the day, I think that they are differing groups though, as I said 'I don't not want Starlings' just wish I didn't get that many, I must say though it's lovely to see them in squadrens with their fly pasts just before they go to roost.
Peter