I use a lot of safflower seeds and black oil sunflower seeds, they seem to be unable to crack them open with their soft beaks. When weather permitting I take my feed down for a few days also, when starlings can't find feed in your feeder they will move on. If you are using any fruit in your feed they love that also cracked corn and peanuts out of the shell, so I find that I put less of that out when they are around. The starlings love my cylinder feeder I think because last time I got one with cranberries in it. When I go to get a new one I will leave just get the seed one.