# How to bring the blue jays and red breasted grosbeaks back?



## kakatua (May 29, 2020)

I am new to birding and would appreciate advice from more advanced birders. My introduction to birding started out of boredom during covid. I have to rely on a tree outside my home to place my bird feeders and am unable to instal a shepherd's hook on the ground for hanging the feeders. In the initial days I had great success with cardinals, finches, a pair of red breasted grosbeaks, and a blue jay visiting my feeder daily. Then came the squirrel and messed everything up. He brought his mate along and the two have wrecked havoc on my feeders. They monopolize the seeds and scare the birds away.

I was feeding them Wagner's Fruits and Nuts blend, peanuts, and Kaytee mealworm cake, all of which were instant hits. But the squirrels have an indefatigable appetite and finished EVERYTHING within minutes leaving nothing for the birds.

By the time I researched and figured out which squirrel buster bird feeder to buy, the grosbeaks and the blue jay had already left. Now I am left with feeding these expensive seed blends to the household sparrows, cowbirds, grackles, and starlings. Not ideal.

The other problem I am facing is that a pair of robins have built a nest on the tree. They are hyper aggressive and get into a fight with other birds including the blue jay.

My question is: what do I do about the robin's nest. I don't hear babies and assume that the eggs haven't hatched. I suspect that the blue jay won't return back if it gets so aggressively chased away by the robins. Is there anything I could do to bring the blu jay back? I don't want to destroy the robin's nest for obvious reasons.

What could I do to bring the grosbeaks and blue jay back? I have one of those feeders that close under the weight of the squirrels and it's worked well so far. I noticed that the birds arrived readily when I had strewn the seeds on the ground or a ground hopper feeder. But the squirrels!

I don't want to see the sparrows and grackles eat the Fruit and Nut blend that I have put out. They finished an entire tube of feed in two days. I don't mind it as long as more exotic birds visit and eat from the feeder.

Do you have any suggestions to bring the cardinals, blue jays, and grosbeaks back and keep them coming? They brought so much joy! I suspect they will forget all about my feeders and never return back! What would you have done if faced with this situation?

Thank you!


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## MilleD (Feb 15, 2016)

I'd just enjoy the ones who were still coming, Happy with the fact they are the brave ones. And I love squirrels. All I get here are starlings, magpies, jackdaws, wood pigeons and the odd sparrow and I'm happy with that.

Please don't touch the robin's nest. I assume you aren't in the UK with those birds as it's illegal to interfere with nests here.


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## Linda Weasel (Mar 5, 2014)

One of the joys of bird feeding is that they won’t do what you want. 

However, the little, common dull birds need feeding just as much as the more exotic ones.

You could invest in more squirrel proof bird feeders I guess, because it is annoying when they come and clear up everything. 

The Robins will leave in a matter of weeks so maybe then your other visitors will come back; in the meantime there’s not much you can do about who eats what.


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## kakatua (May 29, 2020)

Thank you for your replies. Yes I am not in the UK and had read up on this forum as a good place to get advice for birders. I won't touch the robin's nest. They are doing their job by being protective parents. The birding season here in the US is short, I guess. It's summer and I see birds mostly in the mornings and evenings now, hardly any in the afternoon heat apart from the sparrows. The thing with the sparrows is that they are wasting a lot of seeds. I was using a blend of Wagner's Fruit and Nut and safflower seeds. The sparrows came in flocks and rummaged through the feeder discarding the safflower and eating up the other seeds. All in a day. They are considered invasive birds and the spillage is inviting starlings and blackbirds while drawing the more desirable birds away. I noticed that in the UK there are guardians for ground feeders which I could not find here in the US. The one's I found are big enough for the starlings and mourning doves to enter in.


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## MilleD (Feb 15, 2016)

Buy a cheaper food if that's your worry, you can't dictate which birds visit your garden unless you have the appropriate (for you, not the birds!) feeders.

How can you not love the characters of the starlings though?


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## kakatua (May 29, 2020)

I want to keep the starlings away because initially there was only one and later I had an entire flock. My neighbors complained because some of the starlings landed in their yard and started to nest. I want to be mindful of their convenience. They are okay as long as activity happens in my yard but not interfere in theirs which is bound to happen if flocks of birds such as starlings or house sparrow descend. Starlings are also seen as invasive birds. I live in a semi-rural town with crop fields and starlings damage crops. If someone were to complaint then I would be compelled to take off the entire feeding station which I would feel sad if I had to do. So management is the best course of action.


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## juliet799 (Sep 16, 2020)

You can consider Brome Squirrel Proof Buster feeder. This squirrel-proof seed feeder that can accommodate various flocks and types of birds. But when I want to pave way for the smaller kind, the patented adjustable spring mechanism makes this possible.


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