Feed woodpeckers, not starlings

If you have the usual style of suet feeder, you've probably noticed that starlings and sparrows have been hogging it—and eating like hogs—these past few weeks. They're trying to find food, and suet offers a fat-rich meal to help bulk up for cold weather.

As a result, woodpeckers sometimes are left out of the equation. Downy Woodpeckers are much smaller than starlings and not so pushy.

There is a way around the problem. An upside-down suet feeder lets woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches feed comfortably. Clinging upside down is not a problem for them.

Starlings and sparrows, on the other hand, aren't comfortable feeding upside down for any length of time. They may try to peck at the suet but they'll realize quickly that it's a losing cause.

There is another advantage to upside-down suet feeders: The suet stays fresher longer. The typical suet feeder consists of a wire cage that enables birds to feed on three or four sides. But that results in maximum exposure to the weather. As the birds consume the suet, the food continues to fall downward, toward the opening of the feeder. That enables smaller birds to reach the suet.

A second option is to get a caged suet feeder. The cage allows smaller birds—including Downy Woodpeckers—to enter to reach the suet. Starlings are too large to squeeze through the cage.

If you already have the usual kind of suet feeder, you still have another way to discourage greedy starlings. You can use a seed cake especially formulated for woodpeckers. It contains ingredients that woodpeckers love: peanuts, almonds, black oil sunflower seed, sunflower chips and corn kernels. The treats are held together with glycerine, a vegetable extract that is slightly sweet. Starlings and sparrows will be able to eat a little of the woodpecker cake but their beaks aren't long enough to reach deep into the openings. The woodpecker's beak is much longer so it has no trouble pecking for the morsels.

Either way, you needn't have to watch your woodpeckers go wanting while the starlings and sparrows push them aside.