Protecting Feed for the Birds You Care About

Protecting Feed for the Birds You Care About

by Francesca Sharpe

Blackbirds occupy an odd middle ground, for many they're a social and intelligent bird enthusiasts hope to attract in good numbers. For others they're an irredeemable nuisance, devouring vegetables, seeds, and emptying out the feeders before other birds can even get to them.

It's reasonable enough to want to cut down the numbers making a pitstop for your vegetables, plants and seeds. The first step is to make sure you're not doing anything specific to attract them. Some general feeding techniques are particularly effective on blackbirds specifically. For instance, avoid leaving out over-ripe apple and pears, whole or sliced. Don't include many raisins in your mixes either. Blackbirds absolutely love fruit, and even if small mammals or larger garden birds may enjoy it as well, it's a sure fire way of introducing the creatures to your garden.

So once you've established you're not openly attracting them, the job is to make your garden unattractive to the pesky creatures. A good way to begin is purchasing safflower seed. If you've ever fed your birds sunflower seed then you'll know what to expect. It's very similar in nutritional value, though substantially smaller, less messy, and featuring a bitter taste. Most birds will be happy enough to ingest it, though squirrels and blackbirds are known to hate the flavour. You'll be limiting yourself a little in terms of seed choices, but using safflower until the blackbirds pass by is a valid strategy.

While there are a number of large birds it can be desirable to attract, it's more than likely there are few birds larger than blackbirds you're interested in. Past that point you'll usually see more predators like the magpie. As such, many choose to enclose their feeders within a large cage. Choose one small enough to keep blackbirds and the like from entering, though the smaller garden birds will have no difficulty getting inside for a bite to eat.

Alternatively or in conjunction with the previous method, you can take advantage of blackbirds' weight to keep them from feeding. Most feeders have small perches for birds to stand, though smaller birds will usually cling to the mesh of the feeder while they eat. Larger birds will simply fall off if they attempt this, so remove the perches to steadily drive the pests away.

There are a few other ways of deterring them. Many stores will sell specialised sonic emitters, though these have the habit of deterring all birds, and only work for those wishing to focus entirely on gardening. Some with larger gardens set up fruit feeders far away from the house to attract larger birds, while keeping the smaller songbirds close by. But if you're looking for simple and affordable ways to deter blackbirds completely without losing other visitors, the above should suit you well.