How to Get Rid of Grackles (Without Driving Off Songbirds)

In this article, we’ll cover how to get rid of grackles at the feeder, which seed and feeder changes make them move on, and the legal limits.

What Grackles Are (and Why They Take Over)

Grackles belong to the blackbird family, alongside red-winged blackbirds and orioles. They are bigger than a typical blackbird, with long legs, a long keel-shaped tail, a slim bill, and pale yellow eyes. The males have a glossy, iridescent head. Those traits make them easy to tell apart from the songbirds you want.

The trouble is their behavior, not their looks. Grackles are smart, adaptable, and they move in flocks. They forage on the ground for insects, berries, corn, and crops, then crowd the songbirds off the feeder. As members of the Icteridae family, they throw their weight around the way crows do, taking over a feeding spot as the dominant bird.

There are three grackle species in the US. The common grackle is the medium-sized one with glossy black feathers across most of the country. The boat-tailed grackle and the great-tailed grackle are larger southern birds with big, keel-shaped tails, and they gather in even bigger flocks. A roosting flock that settles in your trees can run into the thousands.

Knowing where they forage and roost is what makes the deterrents below work.

Feeders That Keep Grackles Off

The feeder is your biggest lever. The right design lets small birds in and shuts grackles out, with no effort once it is set up.

Weight-sensitive feeders close off the seed when a heavy bird lands. Set the threshold below a grackle’s weight, and the ports shut the moment one perches, while chickadees and finches feed freely. The Squirrel Solution 200 is a good example, and it blocks squirrels on the same principle.

Caged feeders put a wire cage around the feeder with openings sized for small birds. Songbirds slip through; grackles, larger birds, and squirrels cannot. The Audubon caged tube feeder is a reliable one.

Shorter perches make it hard for a big bird to balance and feed. Perch rings, baffles, or extenders let you adjust the length. Grackles struggle to hang on, give up, and look elsewhere, while small birds barely notice.

Seed Grackles Don’t Like

What you put in the feeder matters as much as the feeder itself. Two seeds work well because grackles find them a pain and songbirds love them.

Safflower seed has a tough shell and a bitter taste that grackles mostly avoid. Cardinals, chickadees, and house finches eat it happily, so you keep the birds you want and lose the ones you do not.

Nyjer seed, also called thistle, is tiny and goes in feeders with small ports. Finches and other small birds work it easily. A grackle cannot fit its bill in the port, so it does not bother.

One thing to avoid: milo. Cheap seed mixes are full of it, and grackles love the stuff. Read the label and pick a mix with no milo, or the rest of your effort goes to waste.

Clean Up the Yard

Feeders are only part of it. Grackles also feed on the ground and roost in dense trees, so a few yard changes make the whole property less inviting.

Rake up spilled seed under the feeders, since a seed-covered patch of lawn feeds the flock just as well as the feeder does. Prune dense trees and shrubs in the dormant season to cut down on roosting and nesting cover. And where grackles are raiding a garden, drape bird netting over the plants to block them.

Scare Them Off: Visual and Sound Deterrents

Scare tactics add pressure on top of the feeder and seed changes. They rarely work alone, but they help break a flock’s habit of treating your yard as safe.

Reflective tape, holographic strips, and a predator decoy like a plastic owl all make the area feel watched, and a kite shaped like a hawk does the same from above. Move any decoy every few days, or the grackles learn it never moves and ignore it.

Sound helps too. Recorded distress calls and predator cries tell the flock the spot is dangerous. Use them in short bursts rather than a constant loop the birds tune out. For sprays and scents that work across species, a natural repellent is a supporting layer, not a standalone fix.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you get rid of grackles but not songbirds?

Use feeders that grackles cannot work but small birds can: caged feeders, weight-sensitive feeders, or upside-down feeders. Then switch to safflower or nyjer seed, which grackles dislike. Chickadees, house finches, and goldfinches keep feeding while the grackles give up.

What is a predator of grackles?

Cats, raccoons, hawks, and owls all hunt adult grackles. Squirrels and snakes are the main nest raiders, taking the eggs and young.

How long do grackles hang around?

In most areas they are a spring and summer problem, gone by fall. In warm states like Texas and Florida they stay year-round. A nuisance flock often clears out in a few weeks once the easy food is gone.

What are some physical characteristics that make grackles unique?

Grackles are bigger than most blackbirds, with long legs, a long keel-shaped tail, a slim bill, and pale yellow eyes. The males show a glossy, iridescent head.

What types of bird feeder strategies can deter them?

Weight-sensitive feeders, caged feeders, and shorter perches all keep grackles off while letting small birds feed.

And for every other species, start at the how to get rid of birds hub.

---

Images: Common grackle and grackle iridescence by Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0. Via Wikimedia Commons. Infographic by BirdProofingHQ.