 |
|
|
|
BIRD FEEDING
Discouraging Grackles
There are several ways to discourage grackles from feeders.
Try feeding safflower seed. Grackles generally do not eat safflower but chickadees, titmice, and cardinals will.
You can offer black oil sunflower seed, but get a tube feeder enclosed in a good wire cage. The cage must have small enough openings to let in chickadees and other small birds but not grackles. The walls of the cage must be far enough away from the tube feeder so that a grackle cannot reach its head in and get the seed.
Thistle seed is loved by finches but not eaten by grackles because the holes in a thistle feeder are so tiny a grackle cannot get at the seed.
In addition, you can offer suet cakes in a wire suet holder that is enclosed in a larger wire cage. This larger cage should have small enough openings so the grackles cannot reach the suet. There are also suet holders that have a wooden top and wire mesh below. The only access to the suet is for a bird to hover underneath, or fly under and cling to the underside of the holder. Grackles cannot hold on this way.
|
|
|
