{"id":4430,"date":"2019-07-08T11:02:58","date_gmt":"2019-07-08T15:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/?p=4430"},"modified":"2024-05-10T20:29:05","modified_gmt":"2024-05-11T00:29:05","slug":"when-grackles-dont-leave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/when-grackles-dont-leave\/","title":{"rendered":"When Grackles Don’t Leave"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Common
Common Grackle Hovers at Bird Feeder<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This year, the spring grackles didn’t leave. Every year, we get flocks of nuisance “blackbirds”, including Common Grackles, in late winter and early spring. In my area, some of these grackles are year-round residents but more northern-based grackles do also migrate through the area, increasing their numbers. They usually only cause problems for a few weeks. This year was different.<\/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

Temperature & Grackles At Feeders<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Grackles are omnivores, eating all kinds of things including seeds, insects, frogs, small mammals, eggs and other birds, as well as items found in human trash. But food can be harder to find when it is colder. In the summer, as much as a quarter of their diet is inspects and small animals, but on cold days, insects and some other creatures don’t tend to be as active and easy to find. The birds need to eat, so they come to feeders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve noticed when temperatures are under about fifty degrees, this is often when grackles mob my feeders. Chances increase when there is snow. As the temperature rises, they seem to spend less time at feeders. So in the spring, some days will start cool and full of grackles but end warmer and more grackle free. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the weather warms up, the grackles usually move on and, at least in my Maryland yard, I don’t see them much. This year was different. The grackles didn’t leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Common
Common Grackle on Feeder<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Switching Sunflower to Safflower<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Grackles are not big fans of safflower seed, although they WILL eat it if they are hungry enough. So most years, once the grackles arrive and try to take over the feeders, I switch out sunflower hearts for safflower in all the feeders except the more protected cage feeders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the grackles can find something they like better elsewhere, they won’t hang around. Usually this takes care of the annual spring grackle problem (although it doesn’t help with European Starlings.) Typically this period lasts a few weeks and then I can switch some of those feeders back to sunflower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2023 Note: Over years of feeding birds, I’ve seen the appeal of safflower to the “blackbird” mobs change. These days they seem perfectly ready to eat safflower. I still do swap it into my Squirrel Buster feeders anyway though, as they do seem to still like it a little less than the sunflower chips I prefer to put in these particular feeders.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grackles, Suet & Mealworms<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But some years, the grackles don’t leave. Switching out the sunflower for safflower kept them mostly off those feeders but some still hang around. They instead focus on the suet and dried mealworms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I use upside-down suet feeders<\/a> that they have to work at to use. Can grackles hang upside down to eat?<\/strong> Yes, they can and larger stronger grackles can learn to fly straight up from the ground to grab onto the bottom of these feeders. They can’t just sit on them and eat like they would on a traditional suet feeder, but they can make short fluttering grabs to get a little at a time or even hang for short periods. Grackles can be aggressive birds at feeders, so this can interfere with woodpeckers trying to eat although it can be not to be as bad a traditional suet feeders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this reason, I’ve since added a caged suet feeder<\/a> that grackles are too big to get into. Smaller birds like wrens, titmouses, and even Downy Woodpeckers can use this caged feeder but not larger birds like starlings, grackles and larger woodpeckers. I’ve also used pure suet<\/a> in the open upside-down suet feeders at times in cold winter months, something that grackles in my yard haven’t found appealing, but it’s too warm here for that in the spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mealworm feeder is inside a cage<\/a> that grackles can’t get inside, so they can’t just sit on the feeder and gobble them up. Instead, the more patient grackles wait for bluebirds and wrens to use the feeder and fling dried mealworms around on the feeder floor. Then the grackle moves in to hang on the side to gather up whatever scattered mealworms it can reach. Again, it can’t eat them all. But this is one case where other birds get to eat first and mostly are not chased away. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Update<\/em><\/strong>: I’ve since tweaked the mealworm feeder<\/a> so that fewer mealworms wind up on the feeder floor where grackles can reach them.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Juvenile
Juvenile Common Grackle in Brush Pile (2017)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Grackles Nesting Nearby?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I suspect that the grackles didn’t leave this year because several must have nested somewhere in the yard or nearby. I think the suet and mealworms were for their young. Once their young fledged, they brought them to the suet feeders for a day or two. After that, the grackles seem to have left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By early July the grackles finally stopped going after the suet and hanging on the mealworm feeder. For the past week or so, I have only seen them rarely. I am crossing fingers and toes that they have finally moved on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Common
Common Grackle at Birdbath<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gradually Adding Sunflower Back<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now I am very gradually adding some sunflower back to see what happens. I was able to keep sunflower hearts in the three cage feeders all along, but I like to offer it in the Squirrel Buster feeders as well to accommodate more birds, especially the American Goldfinches who nest late and get very eager for sunflower hearts when they do. Fingers crossed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you had problems with grackles in your yard? Do they usually leave after a few weeks or do they stick around?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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

Learn More About Common Grackles<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Common Grackle<\/a> at All About Birds<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common Grackle<\/a> at Audubon <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grackles: Are You Getting Them Right?<\/a> at eBird<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common Grackle Page<\/a> at Penn State University<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This year, the spring grackles didn’t leave. Every year, we get flocks of nuisance “blackbirds”, including Common Grackles, in late winter and early spring. In my area, some of these grackles are year-round residents but more northern-based grackles do also migrate through the area, increasing their numbers. They usually only cause problems for a few … Continue reading When Grackles Don’t Leave<\/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":[73],"tags":[75],"class_list":["post-4430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nuisance-birds","tag-common-grackle"],"yoast_head":"\nWhen Grackles Don't Leave - Birdseed & Binoculars<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Flocks of nuisance birds including grackles arrive in late winter\/early spring. They leave when it gets warmer. 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Grackles are determined birds. But I have two strategies to get rid of them or at least reduce their visits: Pick the right seed and the right feeder! This is what I do each spring. Here in\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":"Goldfinches & House Finches on the Nuttery Globe Seed Feeder","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Thwarting-Grackles-copyright-Nancie-Waterman-2018-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Thwarting-Grackles-copyright-Nancie-Waterman-2018-3.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Thwarting-Grackles-copyright-Nancie-Waterman-2018-3.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Thwarting-Grackles-copyright-Nancie-Waterman-2018-3.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":934,"url":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/acrobatic-grackles-at-my-suet-feeders\/","url_meta":{"origin":4430,"position":1},"title":"Acrobatic Grackles On Suet Feeders","author":"Nancie","date":"June 7, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Common Grackle Dangling From Suet Feeder When Common Grackles get on suet feeders, they can be a pain. This spring a small but very tenacious group of grackles arrived in the yard. They first dominated the Squirrel Buster Plus feeders, full of sunflower hearts, driving away smaller birds. And they\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":"Tufted Titmouse Eating Suet from the Extra Large Suet Feeder","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Tufted-Titmouse-Eating-Suet-Nancie-Waterman.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Tufted-Titmouse-Eating-Suet-Nancie-Waterman.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Tufted-Titmouse-Eating-Suet-Nancie-Waterman.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2517,"url":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/flocks-of-birds-at-your-feeders\/","url_meta":{"origin":4430,"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":5527,"url":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/suet-starlings-and-grackles-wont-eat\/","url_meta":{"origin":4430,"position":3},"title":"Suet Starlings and Grackles Won’t Eat?","author":"Nancie","date":"May 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Starlings Eying a Suet Feeder (parent and fledgling) Looking for suet that European Starlings and Common Grackles won't eat? In cooler months of the year, try pure suet. I've been experimenting with this type of commercial suet this winter and spring. Pure suet has downsides, but it is worth adding\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\/2020\/05\/Pure_Suet_Copyright-Nancie-Waterman-2020D75_5549.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pure_Suet_Copyright-Nancie-Waterman-2020D75_5549.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pure_Suet_Copyright-Nancie-Waterman-2020D75_5549.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pure_Suet_Copyright-Nancie-Waterman-2020D75_5549.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pure_Suet_Copyright-Nancie-Waterman-2020D75_5549.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Pure_Suet_Copyright-Nancie-Waterman-2020D75_5549.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1658,"url":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/common-grackles-vs-the-nuttery-globe-seed-feeder-plus-a-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":4430,"position":4},"title":"Grackles vs Nuttery Globe Feeder (Review)","author":"Nancie","date":"June 10, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The Nuttery Globe Seed Feeder When Common Grackles camped out on my feeders in the spring, I got a Nuttery Globe Feeder to give smaller birds a chance to eat. Cage feeders like this one are sometimes the only way to keep aggressive nuisance birds from dominating feeders. Estimated reading\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Bird Feeder Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Bird Feeder Reviews","link":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/category\/bird-feeders-and-baffles\/bird-feeders\/bird-feeder-reviews\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Common Grackle","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Grackles-vs-Nuttery-Globe-Seed-Feeder-Nancie-Waterman-Copyright-2017-12.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Grackles-vs-Nuttery-Globe-Seed-Feeder-Nancie-Waterman-Copyright-2017-12.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Grackles-vs-Nuttery-Globe-Seed-Feeder-Nancie-Waterman-Copyright-2017-12.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3997,"url":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/nuisance-birds-use-baffles-to-get-suet\/","url_meta":{"origin":4430,"position":5},"title":"Keep Grackles & Starlings Off Pole-Mounted Upside-Down Suet Feeders","author":"Nancie","date":"June 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Clever Grackle Uses Baffle to Get to Suet Feeder Are grackles and starlings using the baffle to get to your pole-mounted upside-down suet feeders? I have two tricks to keep these nuisance birds from using the baffle as a staging spot to get to suet hung on poles! Estimated reading\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Baffles"","block_context":{"text":"Baffles","link":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/category\/bird-feeders-and-baffles\/baffles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Nuisance-Birds-Baffles-Suet-Copyright-2019-Nancie-Waterman-806072019.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4430","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4430"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4430\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9511,"href":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4430\/revisions\/9511"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4430"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4430"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/birdseedandbinoculars.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4430"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}