Comments on: Bold as you please!

By: Kate St. John

Kate St. John — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 13:13:32 +0000

Actually, I already ordered the metal perch online from the manufacturer: Heritage Farms. It should arrive any day now.

By: Vicki & Chuck

Vicki & Chuck — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 12:38:21 +0000

Kate…
Return your feeder and tell the store you want one with a metal perch. For all you mean to the bird world in this city, they should exchange it.

By: Lauren Conkle

Lauren Conkle — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:42:27 +0000

I hang my house wren nest box from a branch with a long, stiff wire, making sure there are no other branches near the nest box. I started doing this after losing several nests to raccoons. I never thought about doing this with feeders. That’s a good idea!

By: Libby Strizzi

Libby Strizzi — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 11:23:17 +0000

No, they haven’t gnawed the twine. Perhaps it’s a long enough length that they don’t connect the dots — twine across high-up branch equals feeder below. Eventually — after several years — the twine breaks after windy days that swing the feeders back and forth. The trees I use are chokecherry trees that no longer have any lower branches.

By: Doug Bauman

Doug Bauman — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 18:09:19 +0000

Been there, had that done by my squirrels

By: Kate St. John

Kate St. John — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 17:18:28 +0000

Libby, that’s a great idea! But I wonder, do the squirrels every gnaw on the twine? My squirrels chewed the twine on my suet feeder and it fell on the ground – and made them VERY happy.

By: Libby Strizzi

Libby Strizzi — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 12:22:20 +0000

I have a technique that keeps my hanging feeders squirrel-free.
You need a tree with a high-up branch (and no other branches in the way.) I get my son (or anyone with a good throwing arm, unlike me) to throw strong twine (macrame twine is good) up over the branch. To do this, he ties one end of the twine securely around a small rock, for weight. Someone has to hold the other end of the twine. He throws it up over the branch. (this may take several tries, and you also try not to have the rock hit you in the head). Then you grab the rock end of the twine, remove rock, tie a loop in the twine thru which you can hang your feeder, pull down to the right height to enable you to fill the feeder easily (but not too close to the ground). The other end of the twine needs to be fastened securely to something — it could be another branch, a nail in the tree, or even to the feeder end of the twine. Needless to say, this hanging twine must be far enuf from the tree trunk, or another branch, so squirrel can’t jump onto the feeder.
This works very well — the squirrel simply can’t slide down the long length of twine, and he can’t jump over or up to it if you place it correctly. I have three feeders hung this way, and the squirrels haven’t gotten to them yet.

By: Kristen

Kristen — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 17:13:11 +0000

I have my very own squirrel. She’s very partial to the lettuce I grow in windowboxes on my deck. (I live in an apt.) I’m willing to share, but she prefers to go through sampling the whole lot and shredding the rest for sport. She has been known to bury nuts in my containers as well.

I’ve also learned that sparrows are partial to newly emerged basil seedlings. I’m a confirmed animal lover and vegetarian of 16 years, but I’ll confess to having had visions of sparrow stew after they cleaned out an entire window box’s worth! Anyway, floating row cover is my new best friend. I hope you find a new “friend” for your bird feeder!

By: Elspeth

Elspeth — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:39:16 +0000

Kate – we too had a feeder like this a few years ago. The squirrel discovered that he could hold onto the hanging rope/wire with a back foot and reach down for the seed without closing access I think we just gave up after that.