how to attract the right birds? impossible? (1 Viewer)

Hello

Behind my house i have put a bird feeder on the roof, i am trying to attract crows, common grackles, red winged black birds and starlings. I have seen all these species in my backyard! I put a bunch of seeds on my roof and in my bird feeder the only bird that ate out of it were english sprarrows~! and then today i put a bunch of penuts (in shell) and i attracted a flock of ring billed gulls! AHHHHH getting the right birds impossible in my situation? lol

Don't try so hard....
Those guys always seem to come around when you don't want them getting into your stuff!
One different suggestion, get it off the roof, and put out suet....lots of suet.
And I must admit, I am curious as to why these birds????
shelley

hello what do you mean by suet? any other food ideas to attract them more? i dont want anymore english sparrows or ring billed gulls if i take the feeder off the roof where would i put it? just love these birds they are extremly beautiful ( I have a thing for black birds LOL) and they keep away pests like hawks and falcons. thanks

Do you live in a house with a yard? Go to nearly any drug store (WalMart), grocery store or better yet Bird Store like Wild Birds Unlimited, purchase an inexpensive wire like square suet holder. You should also find plenty of choices of square suet (which is animal fat with added things like millet and cracked corn) This time of year, nearly all birds like it. Hang it from a tree, place it flat on a platform or hang it from a pole. You are trying to attract nearly all ground feeding birds, so putting it on the roof won't help so much. Be patient, once the black birds discover your suet, any thing else that might be feeding on it won't have much of a chance.
You need to go shopping to educate yourself on the different kinds of suet out there, but for what you want, cheap is best.
shelley
ps--for some odd reason, this year the grackles in my yard have a sweet tooth and have taken a major liking to the grape jelly left out for the orioles. Sunflower seeds that are easy to get at is another goodie, but your best bet is still suet.

Try the granular or pelleted suets from C&S products, Fort Dodge, Iowa. These will work well for the less acrobatic species and can be scattered anywhere. The food also is highly visible to birds.