how to get rid of grackles and starlings
bunnielover
14 years ago
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rachel_frome_ky
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Grackles or Mosquito Fish Eating Tadpoles??
Comments (16)Hi Lisa, Thats an amazing story about the grackles! Though, it doesnt surprise me much because Ive seen similar smart behavior from them and from Curve-billed Thrashers. Both of them seem to be very smart birds. Thereve been studies on crows that show they make tools, make plans to figure out problems, and so on. IIRC, they were at least around 3-4 year old human level in thinking. Most humans would be surprised by that! Especially my mother-in-law-to-be whom called grackles "junk birds" which I found shocking as a concept. I understand the worry over native vs. exotic species But "junk"?! When I first saw the flock of grackles last year, it was like the Hitchcock movie The Birds! There were suddenly two decent sized trees totally black with grackles and they were all squawking about something. I thought it might be a baby, went out to see, and though most of them flew to a safer distance, a few did stay to see what I was doing. I didnt find a baby but they left shortly after with me none-the-wiser to what they were going on about :P I just want you to know, Im not anti-grackle. I love all creatures, though I did kill a couple of Black Widows last year, I usually move insects that scare me :) Either that or encourage them to go elsewhere. When we had a HUGE ants nest in our walkway, (the giant black ants that bite), I started putting sunflower seeds down so the doves would keep the area busy. The ants soon moved, taking some sunflower seeds with them! Id read to pour boiling water down the hole but thats just horrible to me. Anyway, most of our tadpoles are gone, so Im not going to net the pond. Since the grackles bully the other birds we got some big bowls and put them on the other side of the yard and moved our birdbaths into the shade over there, too. The other birds have found them and seem grateful. The weather here is *so* harsh, and with drought even worse. There really is a desperate need for water. It would be nice if it didnt draw *every* cat within 10 block radius since they sometimes kill birds. Its so heartbreaking :( But since we have the shadiest yard with the most water for at least a one-mile radius, we probably get the worst of it. Totally off topic, but now thinking about it, before we took in our cat that was abandoned (in the desert! in the summer! ugh humans!) the cat situation was a lot worse. He is *completely crazy* and tries our patience to the absolute limit, daily, and now has to be kept in until after sunset because he was killing birds Probably because he cant get over being abandoned and starving. He will fight any cat over his "territory," even our other semi-feral cat we found here years ago. This drives us mad, but maybe his craziness has paid off for us in the other cats killing birds area as weve had fewer cats hanging around probably not wanting to deal with him! Take care, -A...See Morehummers and grackles
Comments (3)Grackles do own the place LOL. Unlike startlings or English sparrows they are native to TX and other parts of North America. I don't know if they eat hummingbirds. Never heard of it. If a feeder is attracting the Grackles (they get food easily in the area)I don't see why they'd bother to hunt a quick,agile bird like a hummer. That's just a guess tho. I don't know if you put out food for birds. If you do this might help. (I found this info on the net:) Try a feeder that is specifically designed for small birds (like finches) and fill it with thistle seed. Larger birds will not be able to use some of these feeders because their beaks are too large. With open feeders, try using smaller seeds to encourage only the smaller birds. English sparrows also feed on small seed; you may not be able to discourage English sparrows from your bird feeder if you want to feed finches. Hope this helps! PJ...See MoreSquirrels and Starlings.....terrible!
Comments (5)I don't have any problems with squirrels, but they can't get past the plastic discs that hang above my feeders. All my feeders hang from trees and are at least 6' off the ground. As for the Starlings and Grackles, they were having a field day at my platform feeder and big suet feeder. I replaced the platform with an upside down suet feeder they can't access like this (though at half the price): http://www.amazon.com/Birds-Choice-Single-Upside-Feeder/dp/B0012SCNBI/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top So far, it looks like the other birds aren't too interested in dining down under either. I put my Nyjer feeder back in place of the bigger suet feeder, and the unpleasant birds are left with no feeders they can access. They still hang around on the ground, but not nearly as many. I see them working for their worm and grub meals on my lawn more often now. vince This post was edited by farmboy1 on Mon, May 5, 14 at 23:49...See MoreStarling resistant suet feeders
Comments (12)Lucky for me starlings are only an occasional problem in my yard. Hordes fly in, stay a week or so and vanish. When they come I use a recycled recycled plastic upside-down feeder like this: (from Suet Bird Feeders) I am loving the recycled plastic over wood, it's so easy to clean and you can even use bleach against mold. Don't think I haven't done a load of bird feeders in my dishwasher. BUT it's not perfectly starling proof - one starling will always figure it out. As an alternative I have a ground table feeder for starlings like this one: from Ground Table Bird Feeders. I use super cheap chicken feed cracked corn (was about $6 for a 50lb bag) and a super cheap millet/milo seed blend ($6 a 25lb bah) that I buy at a local feed store. The ground feeder is a lot easier for the starlings to use, plus they seem to prefer the corn food, so it at least keeps them busy and out of my other bird feeders to a great extent. They don't go through my pricey seed as fast. I've found offering starlings and grackle sort of birds alternative food works pretty well since they are going to be there no matter what I do. Jays also like the ground table....See Morerenee_2006
14 years agorachel_frome_ky
14 years agovieja_gw
14 years agoclaireplymouth z6b coastal MA
14 years agoelke444
14 years agojames_m_clark
14 years ago
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