The product is made of all natural, food-grade ingredients. You can keep starlings away from your bird seed and keep your bird feeders friendly for small songbirds by setting up a variety of feeders that deter starlings and other larger birds. Discouraging Starlings and Grackles. They eat all of the food as soon as I put it down, they constantly fight with other little birds to discourage them from using the feeders, they squeal all the time and fight with each other, causing them to drop the seed all over the place meaning I have to weed all the time. special seeds/food for the woodpeckers that the starling won't eat. I provided them with their own special corner, with their own food and fat holders, and they use this. I gave up on a platform feeder a long time ago as the Starlings ate everything in a few minutes. Starlings however settle on top of a suet cage and eat and eat and eat until the suet is gone. Starlings can be trouble for smaller, native birds, stealing houses and food meant for them. Birdfeeding problem...how do you keep sparrows from eating all your birdseed??? I have the same problem with the starlings,eating the food and leaving none or very little for the little birds. I also have suet feeders out for woodpeckers. They have now figured out how to hang on to the nut-feeder and not only eat all around them but scare off the tits and finches. I have 4 hanging birdfeeders that I keep black sunflowers seeds in 2 birdfeeders with thistle feed for goldfinches. European starlings are an introduced species of medium-sized songbird that first came to the United States in the 1890s. Bully birds such as blackbirds, grackles, and starlings can usurp a suet feeder and quickly empty it, often consuming an entire suet cake in a day. In addition, they use the bird table, which isn't a problem as only the big birds use it - starlings, jackdaws and pigeons mainly. Backyard birders who want to get rid of starlings don't have to give up, however, and it is possible to make a yard less starling-friendly without driving away other feathered guests. Is there a Starling Defeating bird feeder? Blackbirds, crows, rooks, starlings, green woodpeckers and magpies are the birds usually responsible. European starlings can be one of the least wanted backyard birds but also one of the most challenging to get rid of. They won’t move, except maybe for a squirrel, so other birds get nothing. While some people appreciate the starlings' sleek black beauty and uncanny adaptability, the birds' aggressive behaviour and sheer numbers make them a nuisance at bird feeders where they bully other species and hog the food. Ring Ouzel. Generally starlings do not like safflower or nyjer (thistle) seeds. 4. An onslaught of starlings and grackles can be very discouraging to the backyard bird feeding enthusiast. In my experience, most birds sit on or next to a suet feeder and eat for a few minutes. They now don't use this pole station at all, apart from the tops of the arms where they sometimes perch. Due to their eating, nesting and living habits, starlings can be a nuisance in urban as well as in rural areas. The key to successfully managing problems with these birds is to stop the starling problem before it becomes a major challenge. Starlings have a very bad reputation and for good reason. Caption: Protect newly sown grass from birds to stop them eating the seeds Q Which birds feed in turf? The small birds don't like to go inside a cage as they feel trapped. Hi - my garden has been overtaken this year by a big gang of adolescent starlings. Few songbirds will eat them, yet these soft foods are extremely palatable to starlings and will act like a magnet, drawing every starling in the neighborhood.