Keesha, I really appreciate your 'starling 101' post above too. Your info about seed/feed types was very good. My feeders contain black oil sunflower, nyger and safflower - no corn or millet - and I was considering getting corn cob squirrel wheels, so it's good to hear they won't attract bad birds. Of course, the racoons and possums are a whole 'nother story! I've been feeding birds for six years now here and never had a starling flock until last week. First there was just one on the suet feeder, next day 21 - at least! - guess the first one was a scout. I took in the suet feeders and all was quiet for two days. Then we got a magical snowfall - 6" of beauty, rare here! - so I put the feeders back out for my regulars (including a couple types of woodpeckers who are such fun to watch!). Well, no joke, within 20 minutes the yard looked like a Hitchcock movie set - I've heard that birds have a highly refined sense of smell, this was proof positive! With snow on the ground, I left the suet feeders up ... starlings were piggy, but pretty well behaved, not beating up the locals whom I didn't want to be deprived. But, they did scoff up the suet at warp speed. Snow is gone now, the suet feeders are empty and I'm going to leave them that way for at least a week, in hopes the starling flock moves on. Here in the South, my suet feeders are only out for a short time - I'm more than a little ticked that this season I have to minimize that time frame ..... because of the darned starlings! :o(

I have to say that I think grackles are pretty-that blue/purple iridescence is wonderful-their greediness I'm not so fond of! Now starlings are a different matter-ugly with no redeeming value that I can see. I used to have them, but now we don't see them anymore. I wonder if West Nile virus has done them in around here. We have a crow rookery in an area nearby and I hate it when they fill the trees and make non-stop noise. Just a side note-we put our tree on the deck this year and the birds love it. The cardinals, chickadees, et al are landing in it and hopping all around it. So much fun to watch from my spot here in the dining room. The slap-happy idiots, who are the reason we didn't put the tree inside, are enjoying the show, too.

Any luck with the mockingbirds? I have the same problem.

Thanks, Karen, for the excellent site. Wow! I had no idea that sparrows were so predatory! For now, we put a piece of duct tape over the hole. I noticed the sparrows hanging around and on top of it. Hopefully, they will go elsewhere. Is it actually possible to drive them from the property permanently? I'm wondering if the nesting box is even a good place for bluebirds. It's close to our house - will that deter them? There are shrubs around it which may attract the sparrows. I have a lot to learn about bluebirds and the SIALIS site is a good place to start.