I had a basket like suet cage that my Mockingbird loved as well as Starlings, but they would empty it in 15 minutes. Solution, hang a suet log instead. It did not take the Mockingbird long to figure he (she) could launch from the squirrel guard, hover long enough to peck a mouthful of the suet and take it to the ground or a tree to eat or feed it to its young. We hang the log at a 45* angle.
Most species of my other backyard birds soon learned from the Mockingbird. The log slowed the intake of the Starlings down a lot. More effort and only one at a time attacking it!! One of the last birds to learn were the Grackles who mastered it this year. So now, any bird that cannot not hang onto the log, pecks the suet out as they hover under it. The only common back yard bird that I have not seen do it as of yet is a Goldfinch - real slow learners or just not interested in suet? The mourning doves are not very good at it so seldom give it a try for which I am happy.
I use "summer no melt suet" which I make so we have it out year round. Fun watching the adults feeding their young as well as watching the woodpeckers learning to get up the courage to move from the top of the log where the adults often feed them to finally being able to hang onto the under side to feed themselves - usually takes 4 or 5 days for them to succeed.
Robins are not regulars at it but have seen a few feeding on it.
And I just recalled - we have had lots of Oriole activity at our jelly feeder on the next hook over this summer. I have not seen them try for the suet - yet!
Marie in South Portland
On Thu, Jul 12, 2018 at 6:37 PM, Sally P <pachulski@gmail.com> wrote:
I have a crazy robin in my yard. Last year he discovered the bird feeders by watching our also crazy eastern phoebes. I would watch him imitate their inappropriate phoebe behavior as he would sit on the feeder and eat sunflower seed. Naturally I thought I was delusional about this. This year he has stepped it up a notch. He will be standing on the ground under the suet feeder, jump up, stab at the feeder and get a big beakful of suet before gravity brings him back to earth. Sometimes this is repeated three or four times in a row. He may actually feeding young with the suet but I've yet to verify. Has anyone else seen this happening with robins? He does it constantly so I don't think it's an occasional bug.
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