Grackle-proof Cage Feeder

The above pic shows 2 White-throated Sparrows and a Pine Warbler inside the cage feeder, and a 3rd White-throat about to enter. Other small birds which use our feeder include chickadees, titmice, Carolina Wrens, nuthatches, goldfinches, siskins, and Downy Woodpeckers. The seed is Black Oil Sunflower, usually with some peanut halves, and the suet stick hanging in the center contains peanut butter suet. I have made and used this design feeder for the last 30 years. It allows small birds access to the food, and excludes large birds, such as grackles (hanging on back of cage in below pic).

There are some commercial feeders which use the same principal of a screen to exclude large birds, but in general, the commercial designs do not have a large enough feeding space to accommodate several small birds. In my latest design, the inside dimensions are 22x22x16 inches, LxWxH. The wire mesh is 1x2 inch hardware cloth, with every other opening enlarged to 1 and 1/2 inches wide using pliers.

Medium size desirable birds, such as Cardinals, can sometimes enter the feeder, but more often they get seed that becomes pushed to the edge (below pic). Red-bellied Woodpeckers will often hang on the feeder wire, and use their long tongues to tease a peanut half over to the edge where they pick it up with their bill.

The above pic also shows the top of commercial squirrel-racoon baffle on the pole below the feeder. Racoons gave me a challenge this past winter by climbing over a single baffle, but by placing a metal cylinder baffle on top of a metal cone baffle, I was able to stop them.

Think the Grackles are mad at me? This guy sure looks mad.