RSPB Suet feeder and guardian

2.6451612903 out of 5

31

Bought this feeder last week magpies ate the fat balls in no time. I fastened some wood on on inside of fatal chamber so the balls were in a single column farther away from the outer cage. They still got their greedy beaks in there

Looks good but jackdaws have no trouble emptying 6 fatballs in one afternoon. Don’t want to keep feeding all of them, so I’m leaving it empty just now while I try to see a way round it

I bought this feeder after the crows and jackdaws found the previous RSPB Premium Suet Feeder an easy target. The Guardian Feeder is not 100% 'squirrel-proof', a determined adult grey can squeeze its head through the cage. Hopefully, I have defeated them by hanging the feeder on top of a pole with a large baffle suspended below. Big birds (crows, jackdaws and pigeons) cannot rob it, but tits, robins, sparrows, great spotted woodpecker and even blackbirds are right at home.

Yes it hold the suet balls but the squirrels have no problems getting at them and while the squirrels feast the small birds do not and further more the squirrels are exceedingly greedy.

RSPB response: Thank you for your review, I am sorry you are unhappy with this product. Whilst we do not advertise our products to be squirrel proof, we are currently looking into our guardians to see if there are improvements we can make to further deter them.

Needs a wider guardian or smaller feeder. Adult squirrels just reach in and grab handfuls of suet. Looks nice, though. Might try replacing the feeder with a single-column one, if I can find one with screw thread on bottom.

RSPB response: Thank you for your review. We are aware of the number of reviews highlighting issues with this product and will be looking at changes we can make. I apologise that it was not effective for you. If you need any further assistance please contact our customer service team.

Bought one of these because the smaller birds like the suet and it was being eaten in minutes by the starlings and jackdaws. Well, the suet balls are still being eaten in minutes. In fact, it has made it easier for the jackdaws, who now have a nice cage to hang on to so that they can take large chinks out of the suet and throw it in the floor for their friends. I wish I had read the other reviews properly before buying. Come on RSPB, please don't sell us stuff that doesn't work!

RSPB response: Thank you for your review. Jackdaws are highly intelligent birds that can pick up tricks easily, so it is difficult to ever exclude them entirely. Starlings are a red-listed species so we do not design feeders to restrict them specifically. We are wary of making the gaps in the product too small and restricting smaller birds from entry, however we will take your comments on board when discussing this product with our supplier.

Whilst it is good quality it doesn't stop squirrels and magpies from getting at the fat balls. I've had to put a standard fat ball feeder inside this fat ball container to make it more difficult for the squirrels and they do seem to have given up. However I regularly see two or three magpies on the feeder as they can reach the fat balls. Either the outer cage needs to be a bigger diameter or the inner fat ball holder a smaller diameter to make the gap bigger so bigger birds can't reach the fat balls.

RSPB response: Thank you for your review. Unfortunately squirrels are clever creatures and we do state on the product advice that young and juvenile squirrels may be able to squeeze through the gaps. Magpies are also smart birds so it is difficult to find ways to prevent them from picking up tricks to feed. We will take on board your comments with regards to the diameters of the product.

As other reviewers have stated I have had problem with larger birds getting their beaks in to peck the fat balls and thus the feeder empties within about 2 days or less. Jackdaws get their beaks in, also have particular problem with lesser spotted woodpecker cleverly getting it's beak nearer enough to feed. Although it obviously is nice having the lesser spotted in the garden! The small birds still feed inside the cage while the larger birds peck from the outside. I think the diameter of the outer cage needs to be wider so the beaks of the larger birds cannot reach the fat balls.

RSPB response: Thank you for your review of the RSPB suet feeder and guardian. We appreciate your feedback, your comments have been fed back to our product team.

You fill the holder up by unscrewing a plastic screw to release the bottom. After three fills the plastic thread starts to disappear and you cannot get the bottom attached. The double cage of this produce is good but the plastic screw causes a problem

RSPB response: Thank you for your review. We have noted your comments and are discussing this with our supplier. If you contact customer services they will be able to assist.

This is a good general fatball feeder, but I bought it in the hopes of keeping the starlings, jackdaws and magpies from eating me out of house and home and giving smaller birds a look-in - unfortunately it hasn't done that!

The starlings quickly figured out that they could stretch their heads through the bars to reach the outside of the fatballs, and some of the juvenile birds just climb through (one got stuck in the bars once and I had to come out and rescue it, much to its alarm). The jackdaws and magpies took longer, but they worked out that they could sit on the top of the feeder and reach the suet balls with their beaks.

These days I just accept there is no way to keep the starlings and big birds off the suet balls and keep refilling it every couple of days. I'm glad to have the birds in the garden and with so many feeders the little birds usually have something they can eat, even if there's a bit of a wait!

RSPB response: Thank you for your review. Starlings, being not much larger than other feeder using birds, are very difficult to prevent from feeding. As well as this they are a red-listed species so we do not design feeders to restrict them specifically. We have taken your comments on board regarding the other larger birds and will consider this in future designs.

I purchased this hoping to keep the ravens and magpies out.I bought a cheaper one elsewhere which didn't work and thought as this was RSPB they would build it with the knowledge they have.
Day after we put it up the large birds were having a feast emptied in one day. the guardian needs to be wider and I feel that I have totally wasted my money on this one.
The seeder we bought at the same time seems to be doing its job ok.
I would say to anyone if the suet one you want to keep big birds out don't bother with this one.
I feel really disappointed.

Thank you for your review. We take these comments on board however it is extremely difficult to prevent the two species that you mentioned from feeding. Corvids are not only very intelligent birds who can quickly work out ways to get to food, they also have long beaks which enable them to reach through gaps. If the gaps were smaller then other small garden birds would not be able to access the feeders.

Squirrels in our garden destroy most feeders we get. Ripping lids off, biting through mesh, breaking cage off base etc, taking off station and into woods to empty.... This last lasted, and is my favourite suet feeder. So they get some but can't smash it up or steal it :-)

Starlings love to eat from this feeder, as I hang it in a bush where they feel safe. The local squirrels, however, were not fooled by it for long before one of them discovered that by reaching in and scooping a fat ball up to the top mesh, they can nibble it until it is small enough to pull through the grid carry off. A metal lid on the fat ball holder itself might make them think again.

RSPB response:
Thank you for your review. We will take this into consideration when reviewing this product.

I wanted to protect the suet cake from the attentions of the magpies which will eat one in a day. By suspending the block from a wire in the middle of the cage the magpies can just reach when it's new - but as it gets eaten away they are thwarted. Ideally the cage would be a cm or two wider and they wouldn't be able to reach at all.

I bought this as a replacement for a cuboid fat ball feeder from another company - the plastic had broken and it was rusting through. The birds used to get through the fat balls at a rate of knots in that and I had to ration them. They seem to be very reluctant to use this one and I have to remove partially mouldy fat balls from it almost as regularly as I used to fill the other.
Even the starlings and jackdaws don't make much effort to get at it!
I think the problem is the slope on the base, as with the other item I have reviewed.

On average we can have about 7 squirrels at work and they manage to put there heads through the gaps of the guardian and get to the suet. Birds don't get a look in until the squirrels have finished. This product needs improvement!!

RSPB response - Thanks for your review. Any feeder guardian is a compromise between allowing birds to feed safely, while making it difficult for squirrels. If squirrels are a problem in your garden, you should position your feeders at least 2 metres from any jumping off point, and a cone on a feeder pole can help stop them from getting to the feeder. Preventing the squirrels from reaching the feeder in the first place is the best deterrent there is.

I have used one of these for years. It's not perfect, as above comments, but my problem is the platform which the guardian sits on is corroding and coming loose at the centre under the actual feeder. The guardian is still in excellent condition. This is rather expensive wastage but I can't see just the feeder for sale.

Very badly designed useless for putting suet balls in because once they get small in size they just fall out because the horizontal bars are are too wide apart.

My problem was with starlings - where four fat balls would be devoured in a matter of hours! The holes in the guardian graduate to become larger and this allowed the starlings to enter in the same way as the smaller birds. To combat this I have had to add wiring which has now worked. wahey

My problem wasn't squirrels but Starlings. I wanted a feeder that smaller birds could get suet from before it had all gone! Saw that this guardian was slightly wider than the others so combined it with a premium mesh feeder and yippee, thwarted Starlings! The Tit's can now enjoy buggy and fruity nibbles too whilst my Starlings have a medium mesh feeder all to themselves in the back garden. All I have do now is keep them both full (hides food bill from Hubby). Oh and the inner feeder? Full of yummy fat cake for all. :)

I was disappointed that when using suet balls the birds could get in and clamber on and contaminate the balls. If the inner container had been smaller mesh this wouldn't happen. I replaced the inner part with a cheap mesh suet ball holder and this works well. I liked the ease of filling and cleaning. The birds from small tits to woodpeckers can get in and feed but it seems to keep the magpies, jackdaws and squirrels at bay.

It does not prevent magpies from getting at the food. Cenydd

Watch the short video on the Facebook page to prove the guardian works

Having bought other feeders so that i & my grandchildren could see the smaller birds & not the ever increasing number of starlings stealing everything in front of them I recently bought the 'guardian' feeder and waited in anticipation but to no avail, the starlings just climb inside and steal all the food, back to the drawring board

Jackdaws had taken to plundering the suet balls every time my back was turned, wreaking massive destruction... expensive! So, although this product is not cheap, I gave it a try. It was bigger than I expected, but hangs easily and is very well made. Jackdaws checked it briefly and have never been back!!! I hung it up in exactly the same place from which I had been using an unguarded suet ball feeder, next to other types of feeder. Small birds were intimidated for only a few minutes (really!) and within 10 minutes maximum the first brave sparrow was inside the guard... now it's almost always full of small birds, and gives me a lot of pleasure... An excellent product!!!

Last year I thought I had won the battle with the magpies and that the fatballs would now be eaten by their intended recipients. Wrong! This year the magpies have worked out that they can reach the fatballs even if they can't get into the guardian and it is costing me a fortune! Perhaps the guardian could be manufactured with smaller spaces between the bars?

We only had this hung up for a couple of hours and it defeated a squirrel. Within 6 hours we've had a couple of tits flitting in and out feeding their chicks. Brilliant purchase.

I've had this for about a year and it has worked well. One issue is that the bottom metal 'dish' is attached with a plastic bolt. I think our squirrels have power tools here because I have found the dish on the ground with the plastic piece gnawed through. This defeats the purpose of the cage, allowing all and sundry to gorge themselves. A bit of 'modification' with some unchewable metal and it works well, now. Shame the component wasn't metal to begin with.

It only took the birds about a day to get used to it. The robin seems quite pleased with it, as it never used the hanging suet feeder but seems happy with this, as it has a platform to stand on. It's keeping the squirrel out, and it has frustrated some of the starlings, but a few of them seem to manage to get between the bars quite easily.

I bought this product at the end of last year to try to ensure the smaller birds got to eat the suet products instead of them all going to the jackdaws, starlings and squirrels. However, although the birds will sit on the top of it they absolutely refuse to go into the cage, even after many weeks and despite the snow and frost we have already had this year. I finally gave up and removed the cage and, as expected, the suet balls disappeared in days!

I've had mine for over a year and it's still in great condition. It's very well visited by smaller birds such as blue tits but also, I think, thrushes in spring where some go in and serve others who are perched on the outside. I've had squirrells sliding in and out when they are skinnier/smaller and also the odd mouse/rat but they all need to eat and the birds do get the most out of it.