Starling proof bird feeder.

Does anyone know where I can buy the above mentioned please? The Starlings who come here in the summer have decided to stay and not return to wherever they migrated from. I don't mind feeding a few but there is around 30- 40 of them now and they are grabbing all the food so my little birdies are being pushed out. I looked online and found a caged feeder that claims to be Starling resistant but at almost £30 its above my budget.

 

Hi Lucuis, do you have a spare carry crate like this to recreate this idea? Or panels to make one maybe -Just a thought

 

Hi BeeHappy I have spare wire panels for the bun runs but the bar spacing is too wide and then too narrow to allow small birds if I wrap them in chicken wire . You've just given me a thought . I wonder if a pet carrier might work as bar spacing on door too narrow for Starlings to actually get in. They could poke beaks through but a bowl placed right at back would be out of reach. Birds might find it too enclosed though as only one way in and out, although I guess I could make a couple of exit hole at the back.

 

Its worth a try Lucius, If you have the materials its no cost involved - I know a friend of mine has this panel set up on one of her garden tables - and the birds soon got used to getting in and out of it - like yourself i thought they wouldn't like the confinement, but i suppose hunger will drive the need-Bless um I suppose as with any feeding station safety from predators is always the main concern! This is why she didn't want it on the ground so raised it.

 

She also adapted something like this too for the smaller birdy's

 

I wonder if Starlings could poke their beaks through those cages. I have 3 caged feeders designed to resist large birds such as Blackbirds and Starlings ( this is what is stated on label ). Starlings can still get beaks through and reach the food. Blackbirds are not a problem. Don't mind feeding the Starlings, just not all the food .

 

The feeders are hanging inside the pretty cages- so i suppose again it depends on how far in the feeder is hanging from the edges - I suppose it would make sense to have a larger pretty cage in circumference Lucius- Im on the lookout for one now at a fete/car boot as they do look attractive when you hang them up

 

Yes, I agree with you BeeHappy.. I saw one in a charity shop awhile ago and wish that I had bought it. I hope you find one . Are you thinking of using it for the birdies or flowers?

 

Awww shame you missed out on that one Lucius but at least you will keep a lookout
Well Im going to try it for the birdies too - Im fortunate that I don't get a lot of hassle with the bird feeders - to be fair most of my birdy visitors just go straight across to the Henhouse and fill themselves up on the feed there- I think most of them would be too fat to hang off a feeder judging by the amount they get thru
So Im going to hang fat balls inside and see what happens but they look sooo pretty hanging up I think its a win-win either way. I have one very cheeky nuthatch who doesn't even bother pecking thru the wire mesh he just lifts the lid off the feeder every morning and goes down the wire tube
sooo funny

 

That I would like to see . No Nuthatch's here, how lucky you are . If you fancy some Starlings I can send you a few, I have lots . I'm not overly keen on Starlings but they have declined by 50% since the 1970's so I suppose I have to put up with them. One stupid greedy bird got itself stuck in a peanut feeder a few days back and had to be extracted. More than any other species of bird here they are always the ones to get themselves into some sort of trouble.

 

@luciusmaximus Im beginning to think i might have been a Starling in my past life then

 

I am sure you have lots of tales to tell BeeHappy.

I made a chicken wire ' tube ' earlier with small bird sized holes. They still got their beaks through . I need a larger tube but have not got any more chicken wire.

 

Would any of these work @luciusmaximus ?

Boiler Flue Guard | eBay

 

Thank you Sheal . They might work, depends on the actual diameter and whether the Starlings can reach the bowl in the middle. I'll have to catch one and measure it's beak . They are the most annoyingly persistent birds I have come across

 

At my last house I had up to 150 Starlings visit for a few weeks each Spring and Autumn. They collected on the overhead cables that ran above my garden. I didn't feed the birds in that garden because of to many cats in the neighbourhood and I didn't want to attract vermin as well. They loved a communal bath though and it was quite funny to watch their antics at times.