I should stop calling my feeders "bird feeders".
They are equal parts squirrel and rabbit feeders.
Squirrels eat bulbs and tip the feeders so I do not love that they dine on my dime.
Bunnies are cute and they just hang out below the feeders, so I do not mind, but check in with me in the spring when tender new shoots will make a delicious bunny buffett and see how I feel about them then.
In an effort to make the feeders less accessible to the squirrels I removed a lot of the lower dead branches close to the feeders. I am probably kidding myself that it is the solution since squirrels can launch themselves through the air a fair distance, but I could not come home to a spilled feeder one more time with our trying something.
Despite having lots of trees I do not have too many places for feeders, so they are both on the same tall spruce in the backyard at the moment.
Good exercise and to be honest perhaps I am proving a point that gardening does not have to stop because of the cold weather.
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While I hope to have put a dent in the squirrels' use, the bunnies do not care how inaccessible the feeders are. This little guy was back grazing the next day.
The remaining lower branches are scraggly with some greenery that I have been using for my urns and centerpieces but come a warmer day they too will come down leaving it a little tidier and less shady under this tree
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Sharing with Nature Notes
Oh boy...yup..squirrels can jump 10 feet as I found out when I started with feeders for birds. It will be hard on a tree when they can climb right up the trunk anyway. I have feeders shown on my blog. You could try a pressure sensitive feeders like the 'Squirrel Buster' which closes when extra weight is on it. As long as they can't lift it off the limb, they can't get into it. Another one would be a metal barn type that is also weight sensitive. If you 'google' squirrel proof feeders, there is a selection and suggestions. If I can help, let me know... Michelle
ReplyDeleteThanks Michelle, I will get around one day to thinking about this more seriously. Yesterday I came home to spilled seed all over the ground again so clearly they are still able to fling themselves to the feeder.
DeleteGood luck,, I have an endless battle going on with the squirrels and my feeders. They have broken so many of my feeders, it is sad. And now even my dog ignores them.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder the big green feeder was $1 at a garage sale in the fall, it is not squirrel resistant at all! I will have to think of more ways to outsmart them...
DeleteSo much wildlife in your backyard - how wonderful.
ReplyDeleteIt is great, there are squirrels but not as many as in Toronto, so I do not think they ate my bulbs in the fall which was a problem in TO.
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