6 Easy Ways To Keep BlackBirds Away from Bird Feeders

Many people enjoy feeding birds, but some bird species can be a nuisance. Blackbirds, for example, are known to raid bird feeders and drive away other smaller birds. Blackbirds can be a nuisance as they are known to eat large amounts of food and chase away other smaller birds. I am worried about the bullying blackbirds and don’t like to invite them to my feeder. But, The true reality is they dominate my favorite songbirds, take access to their food, and keep them away from the feeder. So, there is nothing much more frustrating than a flock of bully birds who are descending on backyard songbirds’ feeders.

Let’s find a few workable ways to keep blackbirds away from bird feeders and provide a safe feeding station for our favorite wild birds and enjoy their beauty.

Why you should keep blackbirds away from the feeder?

Generally, Bully birds or blackbirds are aggressive. As well, they like to threaten other birds who are smaller than them. So, when a smaller bird notices that blackbirds are taking a meal from your feeder, they feel insecure. Birds don’t like to take food when they feel uncomfortable. So, These small birds try to avoid yours and sometimes never come back.

Also, Blackbirds like crows always like to travel with their flocks. So, there is a chance that your feeder will run out of seed or food which you serve for desired birds. If you want to watch your desired birds, then try to keep these bully birds away and provide a secure feeding station.

How to get rid of blackbirds but not other birds from bird feeder?

In this blog post, I will share six ways to to keep blackbirds away from bird feeders. The following tips also prevent other bully birds including Grackles, Pigeons, European Starlings, and even House Sparrows from getting foods form bird feeders. Let’s learn how to get rid of Bully Birds to free up your Bird Feeders for Songbirds.

1. Select the Right Bird Feeder

First of all, You need to select a suitable feeder for your garden or yard to deter them. Different types of feeders are available in the market, allowing you to keep blackbirds away from bird food. Let’s get a quick overview of those feeders.

Hopper Style Feeder: 

Arundale 360 Sky Cafe Wild Bird Feeder

The best Squirrel-proof Hooper Birdfeeder

Attracts songbirds such as chickadees, finches, cardinals, tufted titmice and downy woodpeckers as blackbirds won’t be able to access seeds.

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These are most popular among backyard bird enthusiasts for their unique design. The hopper-style feeder comes with a larger seed container in the center part of the feeder. Hopper-style feeder especially made for small birds comes with shortening perches. So, When larger birds try to access food, they collapse due to the limited space. Most Hooper style bird feeders are also squirrel proof bird feeder with an extra large, squirrel baffle hood.

Upside Down Feeder:

Cedar Suet Upside-Down Bird Feeder

Best Upside-Down Bird Feeder for suet cake

Get rid of blackbirds and grackles that are not comfortable hanging upside-down to eat.

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Upside Down Thistle Feeder

Best for thistle seed or finch mix

This patended bird feeder has a weather resistant cap and feeding tube with six upside down feeding ports that allows goldfinches to feed undisturbed.

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Many birds like woodpeckers as well as songbirds like goldfinches love to hang upside down when feeding. So, placing a upside down feeder easily attracts your preferable birds. But, usually, Blackbirds don’t like to take their food by hanging upside down.

Caged Bird Feeders

Blackbird Resistant Bird Feeders from SPRODUCE

Best Metal Caged Bird Feeder

This bully birds Resistant Bird Feeder is suitable feeding most typs of seeds to attract bird species including Nuthatch, Titmice, Wild canaries, Junco, Wrens, Goldcrest and many more.

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A caged bird feeder essentially does what it sounds like it surrounds the feeding area with a wire cage or netting. This physical barrier will prevent blackbirds and other larger birds from being able to access the food, giving smaller birds a chance to eat in peace. And don’t worry caged bird feeders won’t make your backyard look like a prison yard.

You can also try feeders, which come with tiny holes feet with only small beaks. When larger birds take seed or food, they can’t adjust their beak with small holes. So, They will avoid your feeder and search for new food sources.

2. Serve The Right Seeds

Blackbirds are aggressive and can quickly drive away the other birds you’re trying to attract. There is the second effective way to keep blackbirds away from your bird feeders is to use the right kind of seed in your feeder. Blackbirds are particularly fond of sunflower seeds but do not like safflower, nyjer, and millet seeds.

Wagner’s 57075 Safflower Seed

Most Popular Bird Seed

Safflower Seeds are the real treat for many wild birds like Cardinals and other songbirds and the seed is affordable as well.

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Wagner’s 62053 Nyjer Seed

Best for Bird Feeder with smaller holes and tiny perches

Nyjer Seed is also chosen by many birders as they contain high energy and loved by many songbirds particualry Gold Finches.

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So using a seed mix that doesn’t contain sunflower seeds is a good way to keep them away. Using a mix of these seeds in your bird feeder can help you avoid having blackbirds visit your backyard.

3. Keep the Bird Feeding Area Clean and Use Seed Cathcher

Seedy Living Bird Seed Catcher Tray

Can be doubled as a platform bird feeder

The adjustable chains makes it easier to hang the tray below a bird feeder and catches falling seed and husk.

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Clean the bird feeder area at least once a week or use a seed catcher tray to grab the mess which surprisingly brings great results. Because when bully birds like pigeons, starlings, blackbirds, and doves notice food is dropping underneath the feeder, they surely come with their flocks to taste the food. In case, These bully birds like to eat off the ground. Therefore, Small birds won’t visit your feeder for security purposes.

4. Shorten the Perches or Use Adjustable Perches

This Do It Yourself method is applicable for you if you already installed bird feeder to your garden. If you want to deter blackbirds from your old bird feeders, use a hacksaw or knife to shorten perches to shorten the perches. After shortening the perches, blackbirds can’t stand on the feeders and eat seeds.

Alternatively you can use adjustable perches. Adjustable perches are a great way to keep away blackbirds from bird feeders. By using adjustable perches, you can make it easier for the small birds to get to your food, and avoid getting their beaks dangerously close to the feeder.

Perky-Pet Hummingbird Feeder

Bestt glass nectar container with adjustable perches

This Hummingbird Feeder features four sculpted flower feeding ports with bee guards and also very easy to fill and clean.

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By adjusting the lentgh of the perch, you can make it more or less difficult for the birds to access the food. This method is effective in keeping blackbirds away from your bird feeder while still allowing other birds to enjoy the food. So if you’re having trouble with blackbirds at your bird feeder, try using adjustable perches and see how it works for you!

5. Put A Dome On The Feeder

Woodlink Audubon Wrap Around

Easy to install dome for your bird fedder

The Audubon Wrap Around dome works with all types of bird fedders.

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A dome is a type of enclosure forming a rounded vault to the top of fedder that helps keep blackbirds away from feeders. Domes come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but all have one common goal, to keep the blackbirds out. Using a dome also great for preventing Squirrels straling foods. Domes create a ‘bubble’ around the feeder, preventing any blackbirds and other large bully birds away from getting to it. This will help to keep your yard clean and free of bullies, which is always a good thing!

5. Feed blackbirds separately

If you want to keep blackbirds away from your songbirds bird feeder, you can try to do so by feeding them separately. Feeding blackbirds separately from other birds will help keep them away from the primary bird feeders. It is important to make sure that you have a good bird feeder system in place so that all types of birds can enjoy your garden separately.

Ground Bird Feeder Tray

Durable and Compact Platform Bird Feeder

Putting this bird feeder tray in a corner of your garden with foods that blackbirds love makes your songbird feeder free of large birds.

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Blackbirds and Starlings love bread, doughnuts, muffins, or any other baked goods! So keep a table-style feeder or Platform Feeder off on its own to feed this type of food if you wish. A Feeder Tray for Feeding large Birds that Feed Off the Ground brings great results.

Is this a seasonal issue, or do you have blackbirds all year?

It depends on where your resident is. For example, Common grackles are found in the southeast all years around. In addition, You’ll discover grackles in the northeast, eastern, midwest, and the great plains in spring or fall. To learn more about the Blackbirds migration process, check out this article.

Helpful Tips on Keeping Blackbirds at a Distance

Blackbirds are pesky birds, they like to build their nests in your garden, and they love to steal food from your pet birds. If you let them get too close, you could lose all of your hidden bird food. To keep blackbirds at a distance, here are some helpful tips:

First, try to remove any potential food sources from your property. This includes keeping your trash cans covered and removing any standing water. Blackbirds are also attracted to fruit trees, so if you have any on your property, make sure to pick up any fallen fruit as soon as possible.

Second, you can try to scare the blackbirds away by making loud noises or using motion-activated sprinklers. However, these methods may only be temporary solutions. If you’re having persistent problems with blackbirds, you may need to contact a professional wildlife control company for help.

Conclusion

Following these six easy ways will help keep blackbirds away from bird feeders: use caged bird feeders, serve the right seeds, use adjustable perches, put a dome on the feeder, and feed blackbirds separately. By taking these steps, you can easily keep blackbirds away from your bird feeders.