Clarice Clark wrote:

>"Starlings have a well developed sense of taste, and are repelled by grape >flavoring..."[clip] Seriously, has anyone found the berry flavored suet >less attractive?

Berry-laced suet and birdseed are the only kinds I have put in my feeders
here in WA, and I have had no starlings, but that may not prove anything
because I have not seen any starlings anyplace else in my woods either.

This whole discussion reminds me of the problem the city of Centralia had
with starlings 20 some years ago. Hundreds of the birds infested the
city and finally took over the park around the library. The city tried
every kind of deterrent that anyone could suggest. Many birds were
killed in various ways, but the rest kept coming.

My own favorite remedy in MO for keeping starlings and other big birds
away from the hanging feeders was to put unshelled sunflower seeds on a
platform feeder on the other side of the house.

And speaking of hundreds of birds, my yard has an increasing number of
Oregon juncos every day. Once today, I tried to count them, but I
stopped at 75 and had not counted half the yard yet! Do they migrate,
or do they like it here so well, they are telling their friends?

Darlene Sybert
Cinebar WA
drsybert at northtown.org