I've an ongoing struggle with the resident squirrels that eat more of the seed I put out for the birds than the birds do. My husband built a cage around my largest feeder but, in time, the squirrels found their way in.
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| No matter how many times the cage was reinforced, the squirrel inevitably found a way in, usually within a matter of days |
As the bottom metal plate on the feeder was disintegrating, I decided to retire the "squirrel feeder" and went shopping for a new bird feeder. Luckily, the local wild bird food store had a special on squirrel resistant feeders. (Yes, we have a store catering specifically to the needs of wild birds.) I bought the top-of-the-line feeder, an improvement on the "squirrel buster" feeders I already had. It's marketed as "guaranteed squirrel proof." (You can see how it works
here if you're interested.)
Did it work? You be the judge.
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| Entry attempted with back legs clinging to the feeder pole but his weight on the bottom section closes the seed ports |
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| He tries to pull the feeder toward him while hanging from another feeder but even the lesser pressure closes the seed ports |
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| He studies the problem from above |
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| Giving up on the new feeder, he tries his luck with an earlier version of the "squirrel buster" feeder but gets only a trivial amount of seed by hanging upside down |
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| After giving me a good stare, he took off |
After two days of multiple attempts to crack the feeder, Mr. Squirrel was found sitting dejectedly at the top of the feeder pole.
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| He appeared to be staring directly into my office window |
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| Is that a look of melancholy? Or, is he plotting revenge? |
The birds seemed happy that they no longer had to share the feeders.
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| Mr. Squirrel could be seen now and then, eating seed the birds dropped to the ground |
It appeared that Mr. Squirrel had come down in the world. Literally. Or so I thought.
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| Then I found that most of the Gazanias in the backyard border looked like this |
So, the "squirrel feeder" has been rescued from the trash bin. My husband affixed a plastic pot saucer to the bottom of the feeder to replace the disintegrating metal one and I filled it with seed. The squirrels aren't getting the good stuff though - they'll have to make do with the cheap seed mix from the local big box store.
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| The old feeder has been attached to the pole on the south side of the house, where the squirrels and the scrub jays can duke it out over the lower grade seed and leave the smaller birds - and hopefully, my Gazanias - undisturbed |
All material © 2012-2016 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
