Protecting suet from starlings?

Hello all.

I am looking for advice on how to protect my suet from those horrid starlings! Last spring I switched to a log-style suet feeder (with the tubes of suet you put in the holes), which initially worked well. This spring the starlings have figured out how to somehow grip onto the sides of the log so they can eat their fill of the suet. I'm hesitant about an upside-down feeder as I'm afraid the starlings would figure that out as well. Has anyone had any success with the suet-inside-a-cage- style feeders? Any help or advice would be much appreciated!

~Brooke

Hi phoenix, I have the caged suet feeder by Duncraft but that doesn't work either because the Starlings have long beaks.

Wild Birds Unlimited carries a caged suet feeder that has a solid top that would probably work better.

They have thinned out this week, but the last 2 weeks were awful so I got shortening, cheap seed and crunchy peanut butter and filled up the little suet tubs with that. Cheaper than going thru two suet cakes a day! I would make up a batch and refridgerate it. Refill the little tubs as needed.

Not much deter Starlings or Grackles, they manage to figure out a way, to get at all the concoction, I've made. The one I made, that lasted the longest, was a wire flower basket with the old coconut liner in it. Filled it, with homemade suet with cheap seeds, and put a white pail lid on top of the basket, and allowed them to search for the suet. The squirrel figured it out first. But the Starlings had to work hard at it to get to the suet inside. I hung that, far from all the other feeders. The woodpeckers did use it as well. Didn't have to refill as often.