Bird Feeder

Wreck-It Ralph the Raccoon Wreaks Havoc


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.

Not So Raccoon Proof Bird Feeder

Didn’t take too long to prove Donna was right on at least one count, it didn’t slow the raccoon down at all. Night before last we heard some munching sounds right in front of us. We stood up and walked closer to the screen and sure enough our fat ol’ raccoon was sitting on top of the bird feeder scooping up handfuls of sunflower seeds. We stared at him/her and he/she stopped and stared right back.

I slowly walked back into the house and got my digicam. When I got back the two of them were still eyeballing each other. I had turned the camera on on the away back outside, so I slowly walked up next to Donna and pressed the shutter. Unfortunately the camera was set on portrait, the red eye prevention pre flash went off startling our friend into action. By the time the real flash and shutter fired all I captured was the ass-end of the raccoon.

I’m stumped on the next step, longer screws? Any ideas?

Wonder if it’s any relation to the #mprraccoon

Not So Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder

We have a couple of the Super Stop-A-Squirrel Bird Feeders, one in the front yard and one in the back. You mount the top part to the tree and the bottom part rests on a couple of hooks making it easy to pull down and refill. They work pretty neat with a spring loaded perch that stays put when a bird lands on it, but when a heavier squirrel overcomes the spring, it closes the lid over the seed.

These have served us well for several years. You can see where the squirrels, foiled by the spring action, have tried other ways to gain access to the tantalizing seed within. There are a few spots where the paint has been scratched off from trying to dig their way in and a couple places in the back where the metal itself has been slightly pried apart, but not enough to get inside.

Last year one of our local squirrels figured out that if he keeps his back feet on the tree, braces himself with one front leg on the side of the feeder, pushes up on the bottom with the other front leg and letting go suddenly he can actually get the seed container to fall off one of the hooks holding it up and it will dump a bunch of seeds on the ground. With repeated jostling he/she can nearly empty the entire feeder out. I know this because this particular squirrel had the audacity to preform this maneuver while Donna and I were sitting on the porch watching it.

I came up with a solution that prevent this trick from working. I drilled two holes on the side that went through both the lid and the seed basket. I then added a couple of deck screws through the holes and now the bottom bottom part stays firmly in place (circled in the above picture.) The only down side to this is I now have to remember to take a cordless screwdriver out with me when I refill the seeds. I know it works because we have seen this squirrel try to perform the maneuver, climb down to the ground and get a little sad face on when it realizes there isn’t a bunch of seeds waiting for it.

We filled all out bird feeders before we left to go out west and when we got back the mixed seed in the hanging feeders was down 1/4, but the front squirrel proof feeders was down 3/4 and the backyard one was completely empty. So when we went shopping we bought a new bag and filled them both up. Within a couple days the front one had barely dropped, but the back one was way down. I knew the squirrels weren’t doing it, so maybe we just had a lot more birds using the backyard feeder.

Turns out it wasn’t birds at all. A couple of nights ago we were out on the porch late, listening to the FRS game on the radio, when there was a lull in the game sound Donna could hear something out in the dark backyard scratching around. Now we have plenty of birds around and more than enough squirrels. We’ve have seen a small bunny rabbit or two back there as well and just the other day a small box turtle wandered through. But this was different. I went inside and grabbed a flashlight and when I pointed it at the bird feeder, sitting right on top, was a Garfield sized raccoon. He was calmly reaching down and grabbing handfuls of seeds and munching away. Dona clapped her hands real loud twice and it stepped onto the tree, climbed down and scurried off into the darkness.

Well, I thought the deck screws worked on squirrels, maybe if I reversed them they would work on raccoons too. So, look again at the picture above and notice the top of the feeder. Tonight I drilled 9 holes through the top and threaded in deck screws, pointy side up, through the top in hopes to keep the raccoon from making him or herself at home at the sunflower seed buffet.

I filled the feeder with half the seed from the front, so we’ll see how long it takes to disappear. Donna thinks that it either won’t slow the raccoon down or it will, but somehow it will aid the squirrels in eating the seeds. We’ll see.