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Hanlou
Joined: 26 Jun 2008 Posts: 28 Location: Derbyshire

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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 8:01 pm Post subject: Starling proof feeders... |
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Hello!
I've been feeding birds in my garden for a long time now, and I do like starlings but..... they do scare away the smaller birds!
I have a Droll Yankee seed feeder at the bottom of our garden and have a small bird table with fat ball feeders at the top end. I hoped that by doing this I could keep the starlings occupied at one end and keep an area for the smaller birds. However - the starlings have learnt to use the DY Feeder!
They come periodically throughout the day to our garden and when they do come they scare the sparrows and greenfinches away.
I emailed an on-line bird company (CJ Bird Foods) to ask if there were any starling proof feeders and got a lovely reply. Basically, the answer was 'not really, no' other than the The Peanut Cake Guardian . I may buy one of these but would like something a bit more flexible though I read in an old post on this forum that you could fit a normal fat ball holder in it? I don't want to be buying specific-sized peanut cakes all the time.
The other suggestion was to use only black sunflower seeds as starlings cannot de-husk these - well my seed mix is black-sunflower-seed based which didn't really seem to bother them - but I have just got some straight black sunflower seeds and have put these in the Droll Yankee feeder for the time being. This does seem to have worked to some degree.
I also invested in lots of good quality bird food earlier in the year that I would like to be able to use of course, so I'd love a 'starling protected' normal seed feeder if at all possible. I've seen The Nuttery range and wondered if any of these actually keep out starlings?
I like the The Globe one but that doesn't say it keeps starlings out.
However, on the Nuttery website it mentioned The Mini Feeder as being effective 'against' starlings. Also, on a different website I've found A Large Lantern Nuttery Feeder that also claims to keep out starlings!
Does anyone know which are the best to go for? Do any of them actually work? If so, which would be the best seed feeder to go for please?
Any help very much appreciated! Thanks! _________________ Hannah x |
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Dawn

Joined: 24 Mar 2005 Posts: 2165 Location: Derbyshire

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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 8:10 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Hannah
Elizabeth might be the best one to answer this, I seem to remember she had some success, but I can't remember what type she used, I'm sure she will be along soon. We had a bit of success with an upturned hanging basket, which my husband made - looked a bit Heath-Robinson but it worked  _________________ Dawn
I can confirm - Bitterns DO exist, and they are brilliant!!!! |
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Hanlou
Joined: 26 Jun 2008 Posts: 28 Location: Derbyshire

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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 8:14 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks Dawn - I do like starlings - they are quite comical birds I find! But they do sort of take over and I want to encourage the smaller birds as much as possible. _________________ Hannah x |
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fsphil

Joined: 09 Mar 2006 Posts: 1570 Location: Cookstown, N.Ireland

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Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2008 11:32 pm Post subject: |
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I've had good success with CJ's feeder guardians. The starlings can't get into it, though they'll occasionally stretch in enough to get something. It's a lot of work for them though, and they give up eventually - especially if there is an unprotected feeder nearby. _________________ -Phil
https://webcam.sanslogic.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/fsphil |
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FeedTheBirds
Joined: 02 Apr 2006 Posts: 134 Location: Tynedale

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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 2:43 pm Post subject: DY Feeder |
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Hi Hanlou,
You can buy a retro-fit CJ Guardian cage without a feeder, which will fit to your existing feeder. CJ won't tell you that they fit DY feeders, but they do. DY feeders are fully compatible with most of the CJ accessories. No need to buy a new feeder! |
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Hanlou
Joined: 26 Jun 2008 Posts: 28 Location: Derbyshire

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Posted: Sat Jun 28, 2008 5:33 pm Post subject: Re: DY Feeder |
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FeedTheBirds wrote: | Hi Hanlou,
You can buy a retro-fit CJ Guardian cage without a feeder, which will fit to your existing feeder. CJ won't tell you that they fit DY feeders, but they do. DY feeders are fully compatible with most of the CJ accessories. No need to buy a new feeder! |
Thanks very much for that.
Will give it a go then. Yesterday there were 22 starlings on our bird table all at once !
I call them 'The Heavy Mob'.  _________________ Hannah x |
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Steph
Joined: 21 Apr 2007 Posts: 215 Location: Grantham, Lincolnshire

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Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 10:11 pm Post subject: |
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Learn to enjoy your starlings. In the winter I can get up to 40 at one time. They look magnificent in their winter plumage.
Steph |
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Hanlou
Joined: 26 Jun 2008 Posts: 28 Location: Derbyshire

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Posted: Wed Jul 02, 2008 7:51 am Post subject: |
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I do like them Steph but with the sparrows being in crisis too I want to give them some chance. I have 'normal' fat ball feeders (2 of them!) at the front of the garden which the starlings love of course and a bird table that I will always keep 'open' as I don't want them to go altogether. The bird table has the mixed seed with sunflower seeds etc in it.
Just the same with the wood pigeons and collared doves - I love to see the variety.
But the starlings bully all the other birds so I want to be able to provide a solution for both.
I think I've decided now anyway. The tube feeder at the bottom of the garden with only black sunflower seeds is working perfectly for only the smaller birds as the starlings can't dehusk them. I'm going to get a CJ peanut cake guardian and use this for some sort of suet treat for the smaller birds and maybe get a small starling proof mixed seed feeder at a later date - so everyone should be happy!
I wouldn't want to actively discourage the bigger birds, no - we love 'our' blackbirds and as said, the starlings are very entertaining. We just want to provide a balanced feeding arrangement that's all.
To be honest I'd been using my tube feeder for ages and the starlings only seem to have 'discovered' it recently. It hadn't really ever crossed my mind that they could use one but they certainly proved that they could!  _________________ Hannah x |
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Neil
Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 107 Location: Staffs

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Hanlou
Joined: 26 Jun 2008 Posts: 28 Location: Derbyshire

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Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 1:57 pm Post subject: |
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Bringing up an old topic I know but am feeder shopping again, lol!
My feeder is so popular that I really want to get another one to spread things out a bit. I'm thinking of buying the Squirrel Beater one not just for it's possible starling-beating qualities but because of it's capacity as it holds 1.5kg.
However...... I have been wondering if the birds like the style of feeding at the bottom of it? That's the only real thing that's putting me off it at the moment. I may just buy another Droll Yankee like I already have and get a pole for it so the birds won't fight over the feeders so much.
I'm getting lots of birds now - the black sunflower seeds go down very well with everyone I'm pleased to say. I'm getting Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Sparrows, Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Dunnocks and the usual starlings and collared doves too. I still have my 'normal' bird table with food for the starlings of course.
Any opinions welcome, as always! _________________ Hannah x |
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Scribe

Joined: 05 Aug 2008 Posts: 179 Location: Cheshire

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Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 6:58 pm Post subject: |
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I have two 'bottom' ring feeders, one being the squirrel Buster....no problems, all the tits, greenfinch & gold finch use them happily... _________________ Alan |
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Hanlou
Joined: 26 Jun 2008 Posts: 28 Location: Derbyshire

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Posted: Tue Nov 25, 2008 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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Scribe wrote: | I have two 'bottom' ring feeders, one being the squirrel Buster....no problems, all the tits, greenfinch & gold finch use them happily... |
Thanks very much for the information. Now all I have to do is save up a little!
I think I'll invest in one of these - it should stop the food running out so quickly and hopefully stop the mini 'feeder wars' that are happening a little every now and then at the moment! Having lots of birds is a lovely thing though. Such a difference between this winter and last winter. My beloved is now interested in the birds too, which is great!  _________________ Hannah x |
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Sturkling
Joined: 15 Oct 2010 Posts: 1

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Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2010 11:22 am Post subject: |
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[quote="Steph"]Learn to enjoy your starlings. In the winter I can get up to 40 at one time. They look magnificent in their winter plumage.
Steph[/quote]
I really enjoy Starlings too and have produced a comic strip called 'The Sturkling Diaries' which is free to view and has no ads or popups. Its basically a tale of garden birds, but I call my Starlings, 'Sturklings'.
I hope you enjoy my attempts at artwork and storytelling.
Sample on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gy-UzHuoRdQ&feature=channel
The official website:
https://sites.google.com/site/sturklingdiaries/
You'll also find the stories on Facebook and Flickr.
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RowanWolf

Joined: 10 Oct 2010 Posts: 36 Location: Norfolk

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Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2010 4:52 pm Post subject: |
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A good thread. I'm now in need of one of these types of feeders as I've been mobbed by starlings. _________________ I don't suffer from insanity...I enjoy every minute of it. |
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Stranger

Joined: 22 Dec 2008 Posts: 309 Location: Ribble Valley, Lancashire

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Posted: Fri Nov 05, 2010 4:46 pm Post subject: |
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Bravo Sturkling, a very nice read / watch / listen  _________________ Take only photographs, leave only footprints. Care for your countryside. |
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