Unlike most other suet feeders, when the suet compartment metal plate is in place, the suet palace keeps squirrels, pesky starlings and grackles from eating the suet. When this feeder is hung high from the ground, grackles and starlings do not often feed at this style of feeder so you can take the plate out. Now, large woodpeckers like flickers, sapsuckers, red headed, red bellied and even pileated woodpeckers can hang from the bottom and feed. Holes on the sides are 1.5 in x 1.5 in and the bottom is 0.5 in x 0.5 in.