Starlings & Grackles Frustration, Oh, My! (1 Viewer)

My first post, and I want to cover two subjects! Ready?
- Number one, I'm losing my marbles! Here's the story... In one of the great bird-box books my wife got me (I build a lot of bird houses), there was an interesting attempt at discouraging starlings from occupying a Kestrel box. As an aside, we've had a Kestrel box for many years. We have been members of Hawk Mountain Sanctuary for around 25 years with many years doing volunteer work. Our time is more spent on grandkids, now, but that's another session! We've fledged many clutches of Kestrels out of two boxes we've had hanging on the side of the barn. Kestrels are now in significantly reduced numbers in this area, and maybe in the whole Northeast. Back to the book. The author suggested placing marbles in the Kestrel box. Starlings think the marbles are someone elses eggs, and they go somewhere with them. Not sure where. Out of 75 marbles, we've only found FIVE!! So I hung five wood balls on strings, and every day it's go to the box, pull in the string-balls, toss the starling nesting material, add fresh wood chips as needed, set the string-balls on the wood chips, close the door. The little feathery beasts have yet to be discouraged. I haven't heard a Kestrel in a long time. BUT... I have opposing thumbs, so I will persist as the featherless monster home wrecker!!
- Has anyone heard of this technique? I'll say one thing, we haven't seen a FRACTION of the eggs from prior years. Just lots of nesting junk.
- Number two. Here in SE PA, we also have the Grackle raiders. We serve B/O Sunflower, Safflower, Niger, Raw Peanuts shelled and unshelled, water in a birdbath, flavored water for the little ruby-throat guys, and the cheapest suet available. Suet eaters don't care. Fat is fat is fat, with or without fancy additions. We saw a "formerly known as a Baltimore Oriole" a couple of weeks ago, so I made a feeder that holds orange halfs and some grape jelly. (The "formerly known as Baltimore Orioles" haven't found it yet.) Grackles seem to have keen eyesight. Sometimes I think they have face recognition! Especially mine! Keeping them from decimating the feeders is very simple. Sit there all day. Instead of domineering the feeders, they basically make a fly-by uttering a single "GAK" which probably means "Don't stop - the fat guy's sitting on the patio!" Or something like that. But I can't sit there all day! Who Can?!!? Actually, sometimes I wish I could!! We have "Squirrel Domes" which are OK for squirrels, but the grackles don't care. Does anyone have a better solution? I know it might not be bullet-proof with they're being so clever. But if they can adapt, so can I!
- So there you have it - Thanks for your time. If you have an offering, I thank you very much! --- EdP

Haven't found a solution to the Grackles that visit our feeders. If they get bad I bring the feeders in for a few days until they move on. I don't like doing that, but the other birds won't come near if Grackles take over. Bringing the feeders in for a few days amounts to the same impact but saves the seed supply (and keeps the feeders clean!)

I've noticed that when the young Grackles are fledging the family will come back to the feeder, but they are not the huge flocks found in the early spring. The family seems to disperse and leave the feeder when the young get older and moving on.

Our most difficult time of year is early spring. Grackles and Starlings flock in the hundreds then. I usually go out a couple times in the early morning and pop a paper bag to get the flocks to move on (they become the alarm clock during this period). I didn't have to bring the feeders in this year because they began to fly through our property. I guess they got used to being chased off and figured it was easier to avoid the area.

Good luck.

Hi all, first post here. I am looking for opinions on getting rid of my beloved grackles (anyone wanna buy em???. I have tried a few things, but looks like short of not feeding they aren't going away, they roost in neighbors pines anyways, and I am right on the way to some unknown favorite feed hole. I tried shortening the perches on a tube feeder, which at least slowed them down. I am trying a feeder called "For Clingers Only". They do seem to be able to at least knock feed out of it. The finches do feed on it "OK", not great but they actually do seem to favor this feeder over a finch feeder I have (metal mesh with "finch food", ie thistle and ground sunflower in it). I did make a platform feeder out of 4" X 4" lumber scraps and wire screen, which does get a little use by some sparrows. I did have a grackle manage to get inside that and then freak out when I stepped outside. It was so distraught it was flopping about trying to escape. I backed off and it figured it's way back outside of it. That has happened twice. The little birds can get in and out no problem.
I am considering blowing way too much money on one of these caged-in tube feeders. Pricing for the size I'd want is around $70 USD. I assume these would be effective against grackles and are not an engineering marvel and should be relatively "bullet-proof" vs complex schemes to exclude grackles (or primarily squirrels, which aren't a problem here, no large trees to attract squirrels).
I am also wondering, why on certain days my watering dish gets a coating of fine mud on the bottom, I am assuming it is "grackle saturday night" and they are all bathing and leaving this crud in the wash dish?
This is a condensed version of my grackle experiences of course, same experiences as I read all over the net. If it were only a few of them and they didn't bully away other birds and empty a feeder in less than a day I would tolerate them.
Other than those I mainly get house finches, goldfinches, some sparrows, a couple Cards, and mourning doves. I know the doves and Cards wouldn't be able to feed on my caged feeder, I don't think the Cards "do" tube feeders anyways.
In the winter I do a lot of ground feeding.
Gilly

Thanks for the advice, folks.
I seem to have a little success by letting the feeders run dry. After a few days I refill and the songbirds are back immediately.
But the balls on strings at the Kestrel box is a daily chore! I must say there are very few eggs this season compared to other years.


ttfn --- EdP

I've maintained anywhere from eight to twelve kestrel nestboxes for about twenty years.
I agree that kestrel numbers are in decline for some reason.
The most productive boxes for me have been located on utility poles or isolatede dead trees near good grassland hunting habitat.
I've been flashing the poles and trees whenever possible with two foot wide aluminum coil stock in hunter green color that's not too offensive to the eye.
I've never worried about starlings or their nesting material and don't bother with them other than cleaning out the box in spring.
I've observed kestrels around nestboxes quite a bit and find that they seldom leave eggs or young fledglings untended for any length of time.Generally the male will relieve the female for a while early in the morning while she goes off to hunt,preen or whatever.
I've come to the conclusion that nearness to good hunting habitat permits the birds to stay close to home and is of great importance.

I bring my feeders in occasionaly as well do discourage these "bullys". The jays are no better either. And then there are the red squirels !!!!

Grackle best fix:

http://www.birdforum.net/showpost.php?p=1459041&postcount=8

I added a caged feeder but the Grackles can get there head through just far enough to get at the food. I give up!!!!