DIY Upside Down Suet Feeder

Spring is the time of year when the 'Blackbird Blues' typically begin.  In other words it’s the time when the migratory blackbirds return to our yards and feast on the foods we leave out to attract backyard birds.  True blackbirds belong to the Family Icteridae including Common Grackles (Quiscalus quiscula), Red-winged Blackbirds (Agelaius phoeniceus) and Brown-headed Cowbirds (Molothrus ater).  Typically it’s the Common Grackles that most people dislike; however there are blackbirds that many people enjoy and want in their yards including Baltimore Orioles (Icterus galbula), Orchard Orioles (Icterus spurius) and if you’re lucky Rusty Blackbirds (Euphagus carolinus)- an IUCN threatened species www.iucnredlist.org. 

Common Grackles (Quiscalus quiscula)

European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) frequently get lumped in with the blackbirds because, well, they are black in colour.  However starlings are not a true blackbird they belong to the Family Sturnidae.  They are also a non-native Ontario species, they were first brought to North American from Europe by Shakespeare enthusiasts in the nineteenth century, European Starlings are now among the continent’s most numerous songbirds. 

European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris)

Starling and Grackle visits to bird feeders are incredible frustrating because they are frequent, they can consume a large quantity of food in a short time and they can show up in great numbers.  They are also large birds and scare off the smaller or timid birds that we want to visit our feeders.

Lately I have been struggling with European Starlings eating all the suet I offer to the woodpeckers in my backyard (grackles will eat suet as well).  So I came up with a way to convert my suet feeder into an upside down suet feeder to discourage starlings and grackles.  Keep in mind this is not a 100% effect method of keeping them out of your suet, but so far it has worked well for me.  It’s based on the physiology of the birds that eat suet.  Suet eating birds such as woodpeckers, nuthatches and chickadees are comfortable feeding upside down.  In fact nuthatches are specifically known for hanging upside down.  Starlings and grackles have a more difficult time feeding upside down, thus upside down suet feeders discourage them. I have two WBU EcoTough® Double Tail Prop Suet Feeders which is what I used for this project. 

Here’s what you will need:

• A suet feeder (almost any suet feeder will do)
• A block of suet or no-melt dough with the plastic tray
• A suet hanger 
•  Some large zip ties

First attach the suet hanger to your feeder so that the weight of the feeder is balanced and the feeder hangs level horizontally.  For a suet cage feeder, get some pliers and re-position the hanging chain so that the feeder hangs horizontally instead of vertically.

Next unwrap the plastic wrapping off of your suet cake(s) leaving the plastic molded tray on the suet.  I’m still using up some of my WBU Christmas Suet.  The woodpeckers go crazy for it!  

Place the suet in its plastic tray inside the feeder so that the open suet faces down when the feeder is hanging.  The plastic tray will protect the suet from being eating on all sides except the bottom. 

Then use your zip ties to secure the feeders moveable parts.  Keep in mind most suet feeders are not designed to be hung horizontally so you may need to get a bit creative.

That’s it!  Now you can hang your feeder and enjoy the woodpeckers while discouraging “blackbirds”.  

  

Here is a little Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) enjoying the suet.

For ID tips and more information on Common Grackles and European Starlings please visit the Lab of Orithology’s All About Birds website: www.allaboutbirds.org

-          Common Grackle: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/common_grackle/id

-          European Starling: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/european_starling/id

Happy Feeding!

Kristen Martyn