What Bird Feeders do Grackles Like?

Calling a Grackle “common” may seem somewhat disingenuous. This wild bird has an eye-catching purple metallic coloring, usually accentuated with bronze feathers. When glistening in the afternoon sun, a Common Grackle is a glorious sight that any bird lover will enjoy.

Feeding Grackles

Grackles are easy to please when it comes to their diet. They will eat insects, berries, fruit and nearly any other available foods. In fact, Grackles will even eat small frogs and snakes when they are available.

Sometimes Grackles are considered nuisance birds because of their larger-than-average size and aggressive behavior. However, with proper feeding strategies, these gorgeous birds can co-exist with smaller songbirds with little trouble. Use bird feeders with cages for suet and other more expensive food meant for the smaller songbirds. Then, use less expensive choices for large tray feeders to feed the bigger birds.

Image Links to Interactive Guide

Grackle Feeder Preferences

Use one of these large-capacity feeders for attracting and helping Grackles, depending on the layout of your yard:

  • Hopper Feeders – Use high-capacity feeders like hopper feeders to place mid-grade bird food out for larger birds. Particularly in fall, these are perfect fill-it-and-forget-it feeders. Just make sure they stay clean and dry. You will want to clean up any mess around the base of the feeder every few days to deter pests.
  • Tube Feeders – Remember, these are larger birds so a small tube feeder isn’t a good choice. However, large and durable tubes filled with peanuts or corn are wonderful and inexpensive ways to feed Grackles.
  • Tray Feeders – Our favorite choice for this particular bird, a large tray feeder on a platform, near the ground will provide a food source for many different types of large birds. By feeding the more aggressive birds this way, you’re smaller hanging feeders can be saved for more expensive bird food for small, more finicky feathered friends.
  • Suet Feeders – Store-bought suet can be expensive, but if you make your own or have the budget, Grackles will appreciate this high-protein food source in colder months.

Now that you’re armed with the right information, let’s find a bird feeder for attracting Grackles!

You May Also Like

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.