Do you shew away your blackbirds?

I have a pair that has moved in my Martin House that always eat my suet. I think they are European Starlings. Should I wait until April to lower the house down and empty the nest out? Or should I be mean and do it now? I have been nice and letting them eat, but lately about 5 more of their friends have been coming around scaring away all the other birds. I want to bring in the suet for a while, but I have 3 Downeys and 2 Flickers that come around that like it too. What would you do? Thanks for any feedback!!

Hi forever, Do you have your suet feeders on a baffled pole?

If so then get a caged suet feeder and a sandwich suet feeder. They might be able to still eat the edges but won't be able to devour the whole thing.

Is this the bird your talking about? This is a European Starling.

How long have they been in the nest box?

We take our house down in the fall, clean it out, and store it until about a week before the Martins return. That is usually the last week in February here. If sparrows and starlings start to claim it, we lower it and close the holes. When we hear, and/or see the Martins buzzIng the house, we raise it. That first sound of a Martin returning is my most joyous moment each spring. It is the beginning of spring for me.

I don't think blackbirds take over a Martin house. It must be starlings.

Keep that nest out NOW. Once they establish that as their home, you'll have a dickens of a time convincing them otherwise. Are you sure there is a nest? It's awfully early for that....

Thanks for the replys. I think they have been up in the Martin House for a least a couple of months. I remember them being in the same top left hole last year. They are the only ones living there. I wonder if it is the same pair? They are European Starlings like in the pic above.
I have a long closeline where a cage hangs with suet and also a little house with two cages on either side along with the other feeders. Still no Pileated! or however you spell that...
I can go out there and lower it down and see what they are doing in there...hope it doesn't turn into an episode of "The Birds" and they attack..haha but I do feel bad kicking them into the cold. Everyone says they are dirty nasty birds - carrying a nasty virus. Poor things. But I don't like them.
I went out there yesterday morning to fill up the feeders and this HUGE grey bird...I did not even get a good look, was sitting on my roof waiting to pick up a birdie for breakfast I guess. His underfeathers were completely grey though when I was trying to look. I did not see any other color distingtion but a blue like greyish color. Maybe some kind of hawk I guess.
I remember when I was little my dad would get his pellet gun and try to shoot the Starlings. I was upset and would scream right before he shot to save their lives. ....Awful memory huh LOL - have a good day!

I have the same memory. When we visited my great-grandparents on the farm, my uncle would shoot the pigeons on the barn. I would run down there and scream and holler to scare them away. It made my uncle really mad!!

Do you have the kind of house that can easily be lowered? The metal kind? Or is it a wooden handcrafted kind?

Yeah, it is the big metal one that is like 20 feet up in the air that can be lowered. It has to be freezing up in there being metal in winter and catching all the wind.
I wonder how Starlings roost at night? Just a pair or maybe in some places tons of them flock together to keep warm?
We have martins from another farmer/neighbor that always come around during summer when I am on the Dixie chopper, but they never lived in my house. Sometimes you think they are going to fly into you when they start darting all around you when you mow.
I just need to kick these guys out and shut the holes until March maybe for being in Ky like someone mentioned earlier maybe....

I think those are probably barn swallows. Martins don't do a lot of darting, they mostly soar and glide. And higher up. But barn swallows will do exactly what you are describing. They're catching insects that you have stirred up. I've seen them flying low, up and down the golf course, darting here and there. Especially when it's being mowed.
http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/barnswallow.htm

Hmmm. I wonder. I really don't know which they are now. When the fly, the tail feathers make a V it that helps. They sure are acrobats flying around. I love it. Those barn swallows are beautiful. Thank you for the info.