I have realized that I need to use several different suet bird feeders if I want to keep the Jays away from my good, homemade suet and let the songbirds and clinging birds eat in peace. If you have Jays, Grackles or worse yet, European Starlings eating your suet, there are several different styles of suet bird feeders to help you solve this problem.
I am lucky in that I simply want to keep the Western Scrub Jays and Steller’s Jays from eating my homemade suet. They can have the store bought stuff I hang for them in a regular wire suet cage but leave my homemade suet for my songbirds and woodpeckers.
As you can see from the video, if you get a wire cage with a roof on it, that simple modification will help keep the larger birds that are unable to cling to the feeder from getting at your suet.
There are several other suet bird feeders made specifically for clingers. This is a double suet feeder that is only accessable from below making it easy for nuthatches, chickadees, titmice and small woodpeckers (like Downys and Acorns) to feed by hanging upside down from below.
This is a single cake upside down suet feeder also made of cedar wood but there are also upside down suet feeders made from recycled plastic that work great too.
Then there are suet feeders simply made by drilling holes through a log and hanging it, like this one that takes suet plugs or can be filled by stuffing it with your own suet. You can make these at home if you have access to a log and a drill at least 1″ in diameter.
There are also suet feeders made specifically for woodpeckers. Most of them come with a tail prop. If you have never seen a woodpecker feeding, they use their tail to stabilize themselves.
These are available in both recycled plastic and wood. Woodpeckers love them.
So, if you have problems with birds that you don’t want munching down your suet, eating you out of house and home, try some of these alternatives. I think you will be surprised at what you can do with a variety of suet feeders located in different locations in your yard.
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Thanks for the recent visit, Larry! You have a very cool site here. The suet video was really helpful, as we just made our first homemade suet this weekend. The squirrels are coming for it relentlessly, so I think we need to reposition the feeder!
Daves last blog post..Cold Canada geese meet steaming hot bread
Thanks for the info!
Cheers, Klaus
@Dave thanks for stopping by and commmenting. Sounds like you may need a squirrel baffle or yes, reposition.
@Klaus cheers back at ya buddy 😉
Larry,
Thanks for all the info about feeders. Always can use the advice from experienced birders. Thanks for stopping by and visiting my raptor post taken from the office. I love these guys but not one I want to see visit my feeders too often…not good for attracting too many birds to my feeders!! Hope you have a great Thanksgiving!
What birds like suet in South Florida?
@Tina I know what you mean about the raptors at the feeder but I still love to see them. They are such amazing birds
@Louis depending on your habitat you should see Carolina Wren, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Brown Thrasher, Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay and in the winter you may get a Ruby-crowned Kinglet!
Thank goodness! I’ve been looking for this answer for hours. I think the log idea will work perfectly for my problem. However, what I don’t know is whether Steller’s Jays and grosbeaks can hang onto a log feeder like woodpeckers and flickers, or do they need a branch or some other kind of perch to land on?
I’m pretty sure the Steller’s Jays will be able to use the log Mark, they are very resourceful! I don’t think the Grosbeaks will find it useful however.