{"id":2607,"date":"2019-03-31T17:22:50","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T21:22:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vampstampnews.com\/wpbirdseed\/wordpress\/?p=2607"},"modified":"2021-02-26T09:57:36","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T14:57:36","slug":"starlings-dumping-seed-on-the-ground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/starlings-dumping-seed-on-the-ground\/","title":{"rendered":"Starlings Dumping Seed on The Ground"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Bird
Bird Feeder Protected From Starling Seed Dumping<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Early spring brings European Starlings to the yard. They are tenacious about sticking around to eat as much seed, suet and mealworms as they can get from feeders. Very messy eaters<\/a>, they sweep a lot of seed out of platform and hopper feeders onto the ground. And once on the ground, most of it is eaten by squirrels. This year I had to temporarily put my hanging hopper feeder away . . . BUT, this past week I had a brainstorm that I think has stopped the dumping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span>Estimated reading time: <\/span>6<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Starlings & Hopper Feeders<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Birds Choice hanging hopper feeder I use is small. The trays are only about 6 1\/2\u201d wide with a little bit lip to keep seed inside. Starlings stick their beaks in the tray, open wide and flip their beaks around, tossing seed on the ground. Gravity keeps moving more seed down into the emptying tray. They keep sweeping it out until the feeder is empty and all the seed is on the ground. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ironically, the starlings don’t usually go down on the ground to eat what they spill. Other birds will eat some, but squirrels usually get the bulk of it. I have all my feeders well protected from squirrels, so this is frustrating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding a Screen to Hopper Feeders<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Cutting & Fitting Chicken Wire<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The trick is to stop the bill sweeping. For starlings, that means dividing up the tray so they need to pick out the seed. To do this, I cut a piece of chicken wire to snugly fit the inside width of the tray. I added about a half inch extra on the back end to bend up into the hopper feed. This holds it in place. And I added a half inch extra on the front end to bend down at the tray’s front lip. I made sure not to leave any sharp edges exposed that might cut a bird.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now when I pour seed into the hopper and it feeds into the tray, there is a layer of chicken wire over it. (Note: I fill this feeder with safflower which flows easily. I haven’t tried this with other types of seed.) The chicken wire creates 1\u201d wide circles of access to the seed. The starling can no longer quickly and repeatedly spread his beak wide to rapidly sweep the seed out. He can still use the feeder, but he needs to use better table manners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most Birds Still Use the Feeder<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When I put up my doctored feeder, several House Finches popped up on it right away. They had no issues with the chicken wire. The Northern Cardinals started using it a few hours later. They seem fine with it too, as are Carolina Wrens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have not seen Mourning Doves on this feeder since I added the chicken wire. And this is a feeder they sometimes use. But I got the feeder as an alternative for cardinals and finches when the platform feeders are full of Mourning Doves. So that is actually fine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I write this, it has been almost a week since I tweaked this feeder. There are still obnoxiously behaving starlings at other feeders but they now mostly leave this one alone. The seed dumping from this feeder has stopped. Once in a while I see a starling on this feeder but so far only for short periods. She is not longer making a mess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Plastic
Plastic Mesh Fencing<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Adding Mesh to Platform Feeders<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I am currently experimenting with plastic mesh green garden fencing placed over the seed in two platform feeders. (I had read a suggestion online that this can be helpful in deterring House Sparrows from feeder trays. House Sparrows aren’t in these particular feeders, but I figured I could try this for starlings.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cutting Plastic Mesh to Size<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The plastic mesh cuts easily to size with a regular pair of scissors. So you don’t have to worry about sharp edges or rusting. The holes are just a little bit larger and more square than circular. (Note: I purchased the plastic mesh fencing at Home Depot. Lowes lists a poultry mesh fencing that has the more traditional octagon shaped holes.) It doesn’t hold its shape the way metal chicken wire will. So I’m not sure it would work the same way in my hopper feeder where seed would need to move beneath it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Plastic
Plastic Mesh on Platform Feeder<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For the platform feeders, I cut the plastic mesh to snugly fit the inside dimensions of the tray. It lays on top of the seed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All Birds Still Use the Feeder<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

House Finches, Northern Cardinals, Carolina Wrens and Mourning Doves (feeder regulars) are fine with it, although the first cardinal on one of the doctored feeders cocked her head and looked at it a bit dubiously when she first encountered it. Red-Winged Blackbirds will also use it. Other birds that I’m not big fans of, Common Grackles and Brown-Headed Cowbirds are fine with it too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starlings still use the feeders with the plastic mesh. But instead of frantically stabbing their beaks seemingly every which way and opening wide to sort through the seed, they have to slow down and aim. There doesn’t seem to be as much seed flying around. It’s not a huge difference but I think it helps a little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"European
European Starling<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It will soon be warm enough that the starlings will go look for bugs and leave the feeders mostly alone. But the chicken wire tweak let me put my hopper feeder back into use a little earlier than I expected. And the mesh is slowing them down on the platform feeders. So that’s a win.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nancie<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn More About Maryland Birds<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

See my post on Maryland Backyard Birds<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goldfinches Dropping Sunflower Seed on the Ground<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Early spring brings European Starlings to the yard. They are tenacious about sticking around to eat as much seed, suet and mealworms as they can get from feeders. Very messy eaters, they sweep a lot of seed out of platform and hopper feeders onto the ground. And once on the ground, most of it is … Continue reading Starlings Dumping Seed on The Ground<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"no","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3,73],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-2607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bird-feeders","category-nuisance-birds","tag-european-starling"],"yoast_head":"\nStarlings Dumping Seed on The Ground - Birdseed & Binoculars<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When European Starlings started dumping birdseed on the ground, I made some tweaks to my bird feeders to get them to stop.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/starlings-dumping-seed-on-the-ground\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Starlings Dumping Seed on The Ground\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When European Starlings started dumping birdseed on the ground, I made some tweaks to my bird feeders to get them to stop.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/starlings-dumping-seed-on-the-ground\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Birdseed & Binoculars\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-31T21:22:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-26T14:57:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Starlings-Dumping-Seed-Copyright-2019-Nancie-Waterman-103312019.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nancie\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nancie\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\\\/wordpress\\\/starlings-dumping-seed-on-the-ground\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\\\/wordpress\\\/starlings-dumping-seed-on-the-ground\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nancie\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\\\/wordpress\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/414b87ef781a2f8dc76d1afdd2a39ce9\"},\"headline\":\"Starlings Dumping Seed on The Ground\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-31T21:22:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-26T14:57:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\\\/wordpress\\\/starlings-dumping-seed-on-the-ground\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1018,\"commentCount\":2,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\\\/wordpress\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\\\/wordpress\\\/starlings-dumping-seed-on-the-ground\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\\\/wordpress\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/Starlings-Dumping-Seed-Copyright-2019-Nancie-Waterman-103312019.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"European Starling\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Bird Feeders\",\"Nuisance Birds\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\\\/wordpress\\\/starlings-dumping-seed-on-the-ground\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\\\/wordpress\\\/starlings-dumping-seed-on-the-ground\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\\\/wordpress\\\/starlings-dumping-seed-on-the-ground\\\/\",\"name\":\"Starlings Dumping Seed on The Ground - 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There are strategies that can help! Estimated reading time: 8 minutes Most of the year, European Starlings don't spend a lot of time in our yard. But when it snows, the big mixed flocks are likely\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bird Feeders"","block_context":{"text":"Bird Feeders","link":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/category\/bird-feeders-and-baffles\/bird-feeders\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/European-Starlings-Messy-Eaters-Copyright-Nancie-Waterman-0131201910.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/European-Starlings-Messy-Eaters-Copyright-Nancie-Waterman-0131201910.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/European-Starlings-Messy-Eaters-Copyright-Nancie-Waterman-0131201910.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6879,"url":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/strategies-to-keep-starlings-off-feeders\/","url_meta":{"origin":2607,"position":1},"title":"Strategies to Keep Starlings Off Feeders","author":"Nancie","date":"January 19, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"(European Starling on Seed Feeder) Keeping aggressive starlings out of bird feeders can be a challenge. Starlings will go after suet, seed and mealworms with a persistence that is both pretty awe inspiring and very frustrating. Over the years, I've honed strategies to keep starlings from taking over the feeders\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nuisance Birds"","block_context":{"text":"Nuisance Birds","link":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/category\/birdwatching-problems-and-solutions\/nuisance-birds\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Starling-On-Feeder-0131191.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Starling-On-Feeder-0131191.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Starling-On-Feeder-0131191.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Starling-On-Feeder-0131191.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Starling-On-Feeder-0131191.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Starling-On-Feeder-0131191.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2517,"url":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/flocks-of-birds-at-your-feeders\/","url_meta":{"origin":2607,"position":2},"title":"Flocks of Nuisance Birds At Feeders","author":"Nancie","date":"March 20, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Red-Winged Blackbirds and Common Grackle How do you get rid of a flock of nuisance \"blackbirds\"? Late winter to very early spring can be a stressful time of year for the backyard bird watcher. You put out the regular foods in the regular bird feeders for your regular birds .\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bird Seed"","block_context":{"text":"Bird Seed","link":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/category\/bird-seed-suet-bird-food\/birdseed\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Spring_Bird_Flocks_Copyright_2019_Nancie_Waterman031420191-copy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6538,"url":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/which-feeders-attract-which-birds\/","url_meta":{"origin":2607,"position":3},"title":"Which Feeders Attract Which Birds?","author":"Nancie","date":"October 13, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Carolina Wren To choose a bird feeder, go by the feeder type preferred by birds you want to attract. Here are the birds that use each type of feeder in my Maryland Yard. Estimated reading time: 13 minutes Note: Bird Feeder links in this post go to my review of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bird Feeders"","block_context":{"text":"Bird Feeders","link":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/category\/bird-feeders-and-baffles\/bird-feeders\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Carolina Wren on Platform Feeder","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Carolina-Wren-Feeder-Copyright-Nancie-Waterman-2020Backyard-Birds-02212019103.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Carolina-Wren-Feeder-Copyright-Nancie-Waterman-2020Backyard-Birds-02212019103.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Carolina-Wren-Feeder-Copyright-Nancie-Waterman-2020Backyard-Birds-02212019103.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Carolina-Wren-Feeder-Copyright-Nancie-Waterman-2020Backyard-Birds-02212019103.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Carolina-Wren-Feeder-Copyright-Nancie-Waterman-2020Backyard-Birds-02212019103.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Carolina-Wren-Feeder-Copyright-Nancie-Waterman-2020Backyard-Birds-02212019103.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5174,"url":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/fewer-mixed-blackbird-flocks-at-my-feeders-2020\/","url_meta":{"origin":2607,"position":4},"title":"Fewer Mixed Blackbird Flocks at My Feeders 2020","author":"Nancie","date":"March 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Common Grackles are Often Part of Mixed Flocks Large mixed \u201cblackbird\u201d flocks are the bane of backyard birdwatchers in late winter and early spring. Appearing in mass, groups of Common Grackles, European Starlings, Brown-Headed Cowbirds and Red-Winged Blackbirds can take over feeders and push other birds out. 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Then offer seed they like to get more birds to your feeders! 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