A matter of size

No bird is really a bully. Bigger birds simply hold sway over smaller birds. But some bigger birds, such as European Starlings and Common Grackles, travel in large flocks that take over feeders. Here’s what you can do to send them packing.

Female red-bellied woodpecker telling a European starling to get bent.

Cage feeders

These feeders are surrounded by a 2 in x 2 in cage. That means small songbirds can get through, but starlings and grackles can’t. 

Unless they know how to use a file, bully birds aren'e getting in here.

Upside down suet feeders

These feeders make suet available from the bottom, not the sides. You see, woodpeckers can cling upside. European starlings and common grackles cannot. 

Woodpeckers can cling all day long. Bully birds can't.

Finch feeders

These are feeders specially designed with tiny holes that dispense equally tiny seeds to goldfinches. Bully birds ignore these feeders because the meal they provide is too small for them.

Finch feeders attract goldfinches and sometimes house finches...not bully birds.

 

Safflower, peanuts in the shell, striped sunflower

The shells on these seeds are too thick for starlings’ long beaks to crack. So, remove the other seed from your feeders for two weeks and replace it with this hard-shelled trio. Once the starlings figure out that they can’t crack them, they’ll move on.