>
> >The suet feeder is now hanging on a single chain to keep
> >the pesky starlings at bay. It worked but now the lazy
> >flickers have given up trying to eat upside and have gone
> >elsewhere. But in their place, we had our first visit
> >to the suet from a little downy woodpecker! He's now a
> >regular too.
>
> The single chain doesn't discourage our starlings; you're lucky!
> Sometimes the starlings literally swarm around it, and it makes me crazy to
> see the suet disappearing so rapidly down gaping maws (and paws and
> juveniles). At the same time, our flickers for the most part seem
> comfortable with it, although they do look awkward swinging from a feeder
> smaller than themselves.
> ...

We recently solved our starling problem by converting to suet feeders which
can only be accessed from the bottom. One has a completely flat bottom, while
the other is "v" shaped. They work beautifully. The downy woodpeckers,
flickers, nuthatches, and chickadees got used to the feeders in a few days.
The starlings are gone.

dean