This is our new bird feeder. Mr. Kotkarankki built it to make a squirrel-proof feeder with enough space for the seeds so we could be away for a couple of nights and the birds would not starve.
The old feeder was made of wood and he squirrels gnawed the edges of it, tring to get inside. They reached the tray when hanging upside down like this:
The new feeder is made of a smooth and slippery leftover piece of plastic sewage pipe, so it will be easy to keep clean, too. I do like the squirrels, but there is food for them in the forest as much as they need, and they can still find acorns on the ground as long as there is no more snow. The birds are more fun to watch and more helpless against the cold. They will always drop some seeds on the ground for the squirrels too. The new feeder has been up for a week now, and I already saw a new species of bird not yet seen in 2009: the willow tit Parus montanus was there together with its cousins the great tit Parus major with the black tie, and the little blue-capped Parus caeruleus.
Squirrels are persistent that's for sure! We have 4 bird feeders in our back yard and after several years and different birdfeeders Mr. Creations found squirrel proof ones. He did the plastic pipe thing around the feeder pole but the squirrels still eventually climbed the pole...lots of amusement as we watched them slide down over and over.
ReplyDeleteMy sister-in-law has even found deer trying to get at her bird feeders!
ReplyDeleteWonderful creative idea of Mr K. He might find he needs to reinforce the plastic with a metal band if the squirrels get inventive too.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos.