Have you ever seen a bird in your garden that resembles a crow but is noisier and more upsetting than they are? Well, that indicates that the grackles have entered your feeders. They are difficult to get rid of, but not impossible. Follow us to discover 5 natural tips to deal with the question “How to keep grackles away from feeders” now!
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Why do you need to keep grackles away from feeders?
You might be wondering why we’re helping you keep grackles out of your yard if you’ve never had an issue with them. The following are some behaviors of grackles that you and your family may find bothersome:
- Due to their propensity to gather in big flocks, grackles are generally viewed as pests because they can ruin crops like corn and sunflowers. When they roost in huge groups, they might also harm trees and structures structurally.
- By driving away other birds that attempt to access the feeder, grackles can also regulate bird feeders. When there is a lack of food, they may even kill and consume other birds.
- These birds carry several disease-causing germs because of their propensity to eat human waste, and some of them may affect you as well.
- Grackles are loud, chattering birds with a voice that isn’t even pleasant to listen to. Once they become accustomed to your yard, you won’t ever experience complete stillness.
Some prey/bully birds may appear around your bird feeder, you also need to chase them away and attract friendly birds:
How to keep grackles away from feeders?
We will go over some strategies that you can use in this section on how to keep the grackles away from bird feeders without disturbing the other backyard birds. Read on to discover more:
Grackle-proof feeder
The greatest option would be to use caged feeders that are intended to deter grackles. These feeders have the intelligence to shut off all feeding ports when a heavier animal or bird is perched on them. They won’t just deter grackles; they’ll also guard your backyard birds from vermin like skunks and squirrels.
Alternatively, you could also change a few things about your current feeders. The first thing you should do is cage them; this will guarantee that only small birds, and not large ones like grackles, can access the seeds. The following four types of feeders deter grackles:
- Bird feeders in cages
If grackles won’t leave your suet feeders alone, this caged feeder is a great option. The outside cage prevents grackles from getting to the suet because their bodies are too large. Downy Woodpeckers and other smaller woodpeckers may easily fit inside. However, more giant woodpeckers will be unable to get the suet.
- Feeders that can detect weight
Usually, these feeders may be configured to close when a specific weight is applied. The idea is that because grackles are heavier than other backyard feeder birds, food availability will be restricted when they land on the feeder. Smaller birds, however, have to be able to sit and eat.
- Upside-down feeders
Buying a suet feeder that causes birds to cling and feed upside down is one approach to get around this.
- Hummingbird feeders
A hummingbird feeder is a good option for preventing grackles since these birds don’t drink nectar.
Keep the area clean
The grackles are attracted to your yard by the abundance of dropped seeds that these birdies scatter. You will need to consistently keep your yard extremely clean, especially the area just below their feeder, if you don’t want this to happen. To make your task easier, you can also think about placing a tray beneath their feeder.
Therefore, the best periods to start regularly cleaning your yard are in the spring and summer. And remember to keep the animal food securely covered and the garbage bags securely tucked within the trash cans.
Choose the right hour
For the majority of the day, remove the bird feeders. Pigeons, starlings, and grackles will simply enjoy the open buffet if they know food is there all day. Common yard birds, like cardinals, jays, and woodpeckers, are most active at feeders around mid-morning from 8 am to 11 am, and then again mid-afternoon from 2 pm to 4 pm. The songbirds will become used to these hours if you leave them out during feeding time till you bring them back inside. However, grackles and their ilk will give up and hunt for other consistently accessible food sources.
Change seed offers!
Starlings and grackles favor sunflower seeds, bread, maize, millet, and other grains. If you want to get rid of them, give them food they don’t like, such as safflower seeds, which cardinals, chickadees, and nuthatches prefer to eat, or thistle and nyjer seeds, which finches adore. Blackbirds, pigeons, and grackles will then need to find alternative food sources.
What shouldn’t you do when keeping grackles away from bird feeders?
Besides the things you learn about how to keep grackles away from bird feeders, you need to remember what you shouldn’t do:
- Never buy seed mixes containing milo: The only birds who seem to enjoy milo are grackles and blackbirds! Milo is a cheap seed filler that can hurt songbirds in addition to the fact that they don’t consume these seeds, which is why none of our bird seeds contain it.
- Use loud noise deterrent: It’s true that grackles may be away if you use a noise deterrent, however, the loud noise will scare other songbirds too!
Grackles are invasive pest birds that can colonize a region, displacing other bird species and sometimes damaging crops and inflicting structural damage. You should try one or more of the ways mentioned above on how to keep grackles away from feeders if they have taken over your bird place.
