We knew my Medieval Bird Feeder Modification didn’t work because a week and a half or so ago we caught the raccoon sitting on top1 pleased as punch munching seeds. We let the seed get used up, either by him or the backyard birds and didn’t refill it, hoping he would move on.
This past weekend when we went shopping we bought another bag of seed and filled it up. Every thing was fine for the first couple of days, but then on Tuesday morning when we came outside to eat breakfast. nearly half the seed was gone. Our pesky raccoon was back. And with a vengeance. Not only had it gobbled down $3 or $4 worth of bird seed, but to show his displeasure with our attempt at starving him, he knocked a glass bowl birdbath off a railing shattering it on the deck and also knocked the adjacent hummingbird feeder off its hook to the ground, emptying its contents, but fortunately not breaking it.
I picked up the glass birdbath pieces off the deck, cleaned off the hummingbird feeder, refilled it and hung it back up. Because this was happening at night after Donna and I got off the porch and I figured most birds wouldn’t feed at night I opted to take a set of small vice grips and clamp the spring-loaded seed tray cover down, so nothing could get in there, be it raccoon or squirrel or bird.
This morning, the vice grips were still in place and the hummingbird feeder was too, but somehow that sneaky bastard had managed to completely empty the sugar water out of it. The ground underneath the hanging feeder was dry too, unlike the dark dirt under yesterday’s ground dwelling feeder. I cannot image how that was possible.
Tonight I clamped the bird feeder shut and carried the hummingbird feeder into the house. I’ll let you know how Wreck-It Ralph retaliates.