My bird attracting set-up...almost a success!

Well, at Brendan's recommendation, I put out a couple suet blocks & I also put out a paper plate with apple pieces & black oil sunflower seeds. All thisin hopes of being able to take pictures of birds and not branches & not from a half mile away! Well, I did get Mr. & Mrs. Cardinal circling around quite often & a few other birds as you can see from the photos below. But ...birds need to learn that snooze you lose as the last picture demonstrates!!!! [:P]

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And the ONLY one that came to dinner is ...

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Better luck next weekend!


Denise

Uhmm, well, uh, you see, now.[:S]


Better luck next time![Y]


John.

AH the infamous tree rat. LMBO. I hate it when they get to my feeders. Bet he thought he had died an gone to heaven with all the good food.

There is an entire branch of science dedicated to squirrel-proofing bird feeders. [:D] Those little guys are pretty tricky. I've seen them chew through plastic and wood like they were cotton candy. I've seen them jump impossibly long distances from nearby branches. You've gotta be Fort Knox to keep them out. [:D]

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Daniel Browning

There is an entire branch of science dedicated to squirrel-proofing bird feeders. [img]/emoticons/emotion-2.gif[/img] Those little guys are pretty tricky. I've seen them chew through plastic and wood like they were cotton candy. I've seen them jump impossibly long distances from nearby branches. You've gotta be Fort Knox to keep them out. [img]/emoticons/emotion-2.gif[/img]

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Very funny Daniel. I myself have a squirrel-proof feeder that works like such: It's a regular tube feeder, but the perch at the bottom is weight-sensitive. Once the perch detects a certain pressure, it twists around very quickly (powered by D batteries) and *throws* squirrels off the feeder. You can buy it here:


http://www.drollyankees.com/hproducts/squirrel-proof-feeders.html?Itemid=58


All of those feeders are squirrel-proof and throw, dip, or otherwise get rid of squirrels. I myself have the Yankee flipper. Also of interest: there is now birdseed coated in hot pepper. Squirrels hate the spicyness but the birds don't care because they can't taste it!


brendan

I'm glad you took my advice, Denise. Making bird setups is a complicated art. Here's my first setup I ever made:


As you can see, it's my squirrel-proof feeder (described in my previous post) and a branch. Simple as that! About half my photos were taken with that setup.


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I don't need to bother sharpening that photo [:P]


Setups really aren't that hard. Just make sure you set them up in good light and of course a squirrel proof feeder helps. Maybe some time I'll post a picture of a squirrel being thrown off my feeder [6]


The great thing about setups with a birdfeeder is that not only do you get to play the game your way, but all the birds will be in your yard 24/7 and they'll land on all sorts of photo-good places.


Good Luck Denise!


brendan

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bburns223

I myself have a squirrel-proof feeder that works like such: It's a regular tube feeder, but the perch at the bottom is weight-sensitive. Once the perch detects a certain pressure, it twists around very quickly (powered by D batteries) and *throws* squirrels off the feeder.

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I do have a very nice squirrel-proof feeder but packed it away last fall. I will probably come across it when I unpack the yard stuff in the spring. In the meantime, this made for a very humorous 1/2 hour, watching this guy go in and out of this "swing"!

The Yankee Flipper in action: (neither are my images. But that's how it works [8-|])


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Those Yankee Flipper pictures are great! It'd be funny to get one of those just for the squirrel video opportunities.

While we're on the topic of tree rats, you could adopt my grandpa's tools.


That solid thing above the middle feeder: a plank of wood with nails in it. Pointy side up. Yeah, the squirrels don't mess with my grandpa anymore. haha.



http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2561/...e426c512de.jpg





And if you want funny squirrel videos, look no farther than this Squirrel Launching Video.


It will also provide you will great laughs while reading the comments. One person begs the creator to launch a professional boxer into the air with a catapult. I don't promote animal cruelty, but this is plain funny.