Will this feeder keep larger birds out? Mainly Magpies.
181804
Yes it does a wonderful job keeping the large birds out. I dont have Magpies, but they appear to be similar in size to Black Birds. They will hang on the outside for a while and try to get in but finally give up. The smaller birds actually get comfortable enough to crawl through that outside layer of wire and will move around inside near the food.
181805
I do not get the blue jays and crackles, but I DO get the larger size woodpeckers along with the smaller size. CAA
181806
Sorry, we don't have any Magpies in our area. Some starlings can cling to the sides and put their heads in, enough to reach the outer part of suet blocks. I'm not sure how large a head or long a bill the Magpies have. Also, red bellied woodpeckers and some mockingbirds & catbirds will cling to the outside to reach in (but that's OK with me). Hope that helps a little in your decision.
181807
I think so. I've never seen a magpie, but according to the bird book they are 17-23 inches long. This feeder keeps out Grackles which are only 11-13 inches and Blue Jays which are 9-13 inches.
181808
Probably. I've seen red-bellied woodpeckers trying to get to the suet, failing and flying off.
2116206
If you can secure it to whatever you are hanging it from, it should be OK. The ball can withstand the winds but the chain and small hook on the end may not. I don't have high winds but I love this feeder and so do the birds!
2056083
Yes it would be suitable. I have even small softbills using it. The only thing is: You got to sand down the acrylic perch inside of the feeder to make it more secure for pearching, because it is too slippery for the birds.
30572
Hello, the largest birds I have seen in the feeder are sparrows of several types. I don't think cardinals would fit. I bought it because pigeons have discovered my larger feeder. Besides eating all the seed quickly, they scare away the smaller birds. With this feeder, the chickadees, finches and sparrows get a chance to feed.
1705440
I think it should, although those annoying birds seem adept at getting to food. The feeder is on the small side and I haven't seen any grackles so far.
1185902
Yes, I really like this feeder, we have had some high winds this winter and it has kept the food in it. I also put a hood over the top to keep the food dryer the birds all seem to like it!
32855
It should - you can adjust the spring mechanism. If the doves are getting in, just make it more sensitive. Ours keeps out grackles (medium-sized bird).
759762
If the wind blows the large nut that holds the cage to the rest of the feeder may come loose. The feeder holds enough to last several days if you have active birds.
2193425
Yes, that is exactly correct! It is an awesome suet feeder. The only negative is your larger woodpeckers cannot get to it either...
1280661
We have mostly sparrows that get in to the feeder at the moment, but not having had it that long, I'm not sure. We will get Cardinals later on, so will have to see if they can get in through the holes. The feeder is wonderful, and may have to get another one, as we have a smaller one, but the birds ignore it. It might be worth trying it, as other small birds would love it anyway.
2116203
Yes it will! I live in the desert and the last few weeks have been very very windy. Handnt even thought of the feeder still hanging just fine.
939023
I does have very small openings for small birds and should keep the big birds out. I actually had to cut a few bigger hole, so that the cardinals could get in to eat.
2013856
It is fairly large and I have seen Cardinals at the feeder. Holds a good 2 lbs or more of sunflower seed. Most of my feeders are wire feeders and attract a large number of Quakers or Monks Parakeets prevalent in my area.
249079
Yeah! Starlings and grackles are too big to land on this feeder. I've had mine over a couple of years and have never seen those birds on it. Haven't seen cardinals on it either. Just the smaller birds. And my area gets LOTS of starlings and grackles and crows!
30573
The reason that we bought this feeder is to provide a feeder for smaller birds where the larger birds can not get to the feed. So far it has worked perfectly. Blue Jays and other large birds have not been able to feed at this feeder. I have not seen any Cardinals feeding at it either but we don't have that many Cardinals feeding at our Yankee Flipper feeder either.
939022
Yes, definitely. As a matter of fact I worried that some of the smaller songirds like cardinals and bluebirds would be too large to access the food; smaller birds do best in it. Really a good feeder though.
971248
Yes. I've had Flickers use this feeder. Although in winter i have been switching to my cage suet feeder.