Whether you welcome any and all wildlife guests to a free meal at your backyard feeders or favor certain species, large droves of visiting blackbirds can regularly deplete feeders and leave homeowners feeling drained of seed and energy. 

To help deter the flocks of larger blackbirds like common grackles, Dr. Bernie Daniel of Cincinnati, Ohio developed the "log roller" design for hopper style feeders. Attaching a 1/2-inch-diameter wooden dowl rod two inches above the perching ledge of your feeder might keep larger birds away from selected feeders when they finally move in this winter.

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How to Add a Log Roller to Your Feeder:

• Treat dowl rod with wood preservatives to increase useful life
• Insert an eye screw or cotter pin into the corner of the feeder
• Cut the dowel so that it fits loosely just inside the two eye screws
• Drill a small hole into the center of each end of the rod with a bit that is slightly smaller than the screws
• Insert each screw through the eye screw and into the hole in the dowel
• Ensure the dowel spins freely and is two inches above the edge of the feeder where smaller birds will stand

Find more wildscape project ideas in "Landscaping for Wildlife:  A Guide to the Southern Great Plains."