As I write this, I can look out a window in front of my desk and see my hanging bird feeder. You might think that is wonderful, even enchanting, and I must admit, I have thoroughly enjoyed its position for several years. All kinds of birds visit, titmice, chickadees, cardinals, finches, sparrows and many others I have no name for. I’ve provided a hanging water bath and even a hummingbird feeder for when hummies come around. The little set-up is most enjoyable and many times distracts me from my writing or drawing to give my eyes a much-needed break.
There has always been a squirrel or two that have stumbled upon my little bird oasis, and though I can’t say I have been happy about it, I have been willing to share with them in return for the entertaining antics they provide. They can actually walk upside down across my porch ceiling to slide down the hanger to the feeder where they use the one-arm and one-foot monkey stance to eat their fill. And what seed they can’t pick out, they shake out.
A few years ago my daughter gifted me a “squirrel-proof” feeder which I couldn’t wait to try out. It was a cylinder-type with staggered seed holes protected by a sort of cage type structure. It was not a worthy adversary. A little shaking and the seed was quickly below the last hole. And when that was all that was left, squirrel teeth and squirrel claws cracked and opened up the plastic cylinder walls. Did you know squirrels are born with engineering degrees?
I trashed the pitifully deformed “squirrel-proof” feeder and went back to my original stand-by, resolved to live in harmony with bird and squirrel. Until recently.
One squirrel is amusing, two squirrels verge on being a nuisance, and three squirrels? Well, no way am I putting up with that. And who knows if they are the same three squirrels? I am beginning to know how they feel at the border crossing! Harry (yes, I even named one as though he were a pet) was bringing all his friends and relatives to the seemingly endless supply of squirrel food I was providing daily. And the birds were mostly doing without, sitting nearby, longingly staring as the gray-furred monsters devoured their food, leaving my feathered friends only seed litter on the porch floor, meager pickings. And so began my online search for the perfect squirrel-proof feeder.
I seriously considered going to Birds Unlimited, a local store near me that specializes in, you guessed it, bird supplies. I have been in their store many times, and unfortunately, I’ve found that I am a huge impulse buyer when the thing I’m searching for is physically in front of me. So….with that in mind, Amazon has become my retail shop of choice to eliminate these purchases of regret. I tend to look and look and research and look and research some more when I hone in on attractive items on Amazon. Slowing down my buying impulse usually results in a much better and satisfactory purchase, which is exactly what I wanted in a squirrel-proof bird feeder, a real squirrel-proof feeder if one existed.
Amazon had tons of designs, many of which I had seen and heard of before. Then I saw one that reminded me of a long-ago purchase, a red barn type feeder with adjustable pressure perches. I had bought this as a gift at Home Depot many years ago, a birthday present for a sister-in-law. I wondered if it had worked and if she still had it so a phone call became urgent.
Juanita, the sister-in-law, remembered the feeder but it had long since seen better days and been disposed of, but, yes, she did remember that it had worked fairly well. Hanging from a tree limb in her yard, squirrels did manage to hang onto the feeder and shake out a few seeds but never to the extent of others she had owned. In fact, she had bought more feeders similar to it.
So I took the plunge and pressed the order button. The bright red feeder with a black roof arrived quickly, and I had it hanging up and filled within minutes. Anything heavier than a bird would drop a closure over the feeding holes…as long as the heavier thing sat on the perch. This, I found to be the only noticeable problem. I was optimistic. It took a couple of days for the birds to trust this shiny new thing, but eventually they came back and seemed to enjoy it as much as the old one they were used to. The squirrels nosed around as well and soon found out the mechanics of the pressure perches. After much effort to jump onto the feeder, there was no reward. And seed did not shake out easily because of the way the feeder was made. But, do you think they gave up? No, they did not.
Their antics were hilarious. I could imagine what they were thinking as they scooted around, hung on by one claw, and literally attacked that feeder. The perseverance of a squirrel is beyond comprehension! After around three weeks of working through this puzzle, they did have a slight success. They found they could hang onto one side of the feeder and stretch their necks around to eat without touching the perch. But it was very precarious and, apparently, not that enjoyable. They didn’t eat much before the effort outweighed the reward. And I am happy to report that now after more than a month, I seldom see a seed-stealing squirrel. And in case you’re interested, here is the Amazon link. Happy bird watching.
No comments:
Post a Comment