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Starlings taking all kinds of bird feed

  • 29-05-2011 12:20AM
    #1
    Trotter
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,362 ✭✭✭


    I've been leaving out fine milled bird seed for the little blue tits and great tits around my house for a few years now. They've always been very happy to come along and spend time being choosy (one little one threw out all the seed except for the sunflower ones) and generally having no problem feeding from the feeders.

    This year I can't keep anything out because a flock of starlings arrive within minutes and eat everything. If I put more out at night, they arrive at 5am and wake up the whole house.

    How can I stop this gang of greasy little gluttons from eating everything in sight?! I haven't seen a smaller bird in the garden all spring.


Comments

  • #2
    siledee
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 60 ✭✭siledee


    Awww..the poor starlings have got to eat too.

    How about a caged feeder? You can hunt around the net and probably get one cheaper than this.

    http://www.gardenbird.co.uk/Caged-Nut-Basket/Bird-Food/40-53-1504,default,pd.htmlw


  • #3
    Alun
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2, Paid Member Posts: 21,547 ✭✭✭✭Alun


    I've got the same problem with two big fat pigeons who hang on to the plastic trays underneath my feeders. It's not so much the food they eat that's the problem, but they're so heavy the feeders are beginning to show the strain, and there's cracks appearing in the plastic tube near the bottom. Think I'm going to have to get some kins of cage fitted to them as well.


  • #4
    Half-cocked
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,319 ✭✭✭Half-cocked


    I have 40+ juvenile starlings and their parents descending on my garden like a swarm of locusts every time I put food out. They do eat an awful lot, but they are fun to watch and I don't mind. The tits and other small birds quickly learn to nip in while the starlings aren't around.


  • #5
    PCPhoto
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 6,584 ✭✭✭PCPhoto


    have a similar problem with the feckers robbing the dogs food - we even put the dogs bowl into her kennel and they went in robbed the food and poo'd all over her blanket.


  • #6
    Half-cocked
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,319 ✭✭✭Half-cocked


    There seems to be more of them everytime I look....

    picture.php?albumid=695&pictureid=9618

    Even the tits coconut isn't safe!
    picture.php?albumid=695&pictureid=9617


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  • #7
    Scrappychimow
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,040 ✭✭✭Scrappychimow


    Trotter wrote: »
    I've been leaving out fine milled bird seed for the little blue tits and great tits around my house for a few years now. They've always been very happy to come along and spend time being choosy (one little one threw out all the seed except for the sunflower ones) and generally having no problem feeding from the feeders.

    This year I can't keep anything out because a flock of starlings arrive within minutes and eat everything. If I put more out at night, they arrive at 5am and wake up the whole house.

    How can I stop this gang of greasy little gluttons from eating everything in sight?! I haven't seen a smaller bird in the garden all spring.

    Don't be so mean.. the little brown starlings are only babies

    Feed the starlings,make it a better place
    For you and for me and the entire Aves race.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2y1pE3yn6M


  • #8
    gbee
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,384 ✭✭✭gbee


    Our starlings line the garden wall and look in until we feed them. We have about 100 or so in three family groups who sometimes arrive enmass and blacken the sky and sometimes fly in in convoy.

    It reminds me of and aircraft carrier landing fighters and refuelling them while other fighters fly cover for them and warn when the crows arrive ~ I've a sonic gun for the crows and it's constantly funny to see the starlings scatter as a flock of crows descend only to return immediately the gun is 'fired'.

    Great activity and we do have some smaller birds at the feeding table too, as well as a dove and one magpie family.


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