Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Okay, first the credit: this feeder IS well-made, durable, attractive, easy to fill or clean and reasonably priced. I can't fault it in any way save one: this feeder and other "upside down" or "clingers only" suet feeders are usually billed as starling/grackle proof or resistant. Supposedly starlings, grackles and other greedy nuisance birds that devour the suet in a single day (while chasing off the more desirable birds) have a hard time feeding upside down, unlike small woodpeckers, chickadees, wrens, nuthatches, etc. A lot of bird feeding experts and retailers toe this line, but in my experience here in the U.S. Midwest, it's just wishful thinking.
Starlings, in fact, were the first birds to use this feeder in my yard and most had absolutely no trouble hanging on it, upside down, and gorging. They relish suet and this feeder was like a starling aircraft carrier: landings were a little tricky sometimes, and only one bird could be "on deck" at a time, but they went on all day, like clockwork, until the suet was no more. A few wrens and chickadees were able to feed too, but nearly every time I looked, there were the starlings, landing with a sort of 'barrel roll' motion right on the bottom grate.
Some people claim the hanging distance makes a difference for these feeders, but it did not matter where, or how high, I hung this feeder. Four feet up, six, ten, fifteen, close to a big tree, far from the tree, close to the house, away from the house... it was comical, the starlings found it every time, like bees to flowers (or flies to... well, never mind). As a kind of worthless consolation prize, the grackles DID find this feeder too troublesome to bother with.
So, this feeder gets a ZERO for starling resistance, but one full star for quality construction. I have since learned that people in my neighborhood prefer caged suet feeders (some available here) to keep the starlings (and squirrels) at bay, with much, much better results. Don't buy this one expecting to defeat starlings, those who claim to have done just that are either glossing things over a bit or have dumber starlings than us.
Oh, and one last note on the design: folks, please stop buying upside down suet feeders with the hope of stopping squirrels. The solution to squirrels eating your suet is incredibly simple, just buy the hot pepper suet cakes or add hot pepper sauce to your homemade suet recipe. Birds cannot taste hot pepper, while our furry tree-rat pals can't stand it. I promise.
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