Show me your feeders!

Nice pic Linth! I love watching them slide down the pole.

Becky, heres 2 pics. Just below the baffle.

Going inside the baffle (top is closed so can't go any further).

This whole system including 2 double shepherds hooks was my Christmas present. I asked for it early just in case the ground froze. There is a mealy worm cup that attaches to the pole just below the bottom suet feeder.

This message was edited Jan 1, 2007 6:06 PM

Pelletory, you will LOVE that pole system. I got one several years ago and we have enjoyed it so much. Mine is a little bent due to raccoons knocking it off the 2nd floor balcony several times at the previous house. Enjoy! We will look forward to many pics.

Becky, we had many more raccoons and oppossums here in the country so we got the baffle and it works like a charm.

Linthicum, that is a great shot of the woodpecker. Does the tray have drain holes or a screen bottom? I've asked DH to make one for me but not sure what I want.

Debra

Marilyn, have you seen the video for the squirrel system called the Yankee Clipper? I may have the name wrong, but it spins around below the feeder and literally throws the squirrel off by cyntrifigul (sp?) force. It doesn't hurt them and it is hysterical to watch. I always get a belly laugh from it when in the Wild Bird store. We don't need it because the baffle works, but I'm tempted to put up a seperate feeder with one of those just for the entertainment!

We had a great flat feeder with a screen bottom. Kept the squirrels of with a baffle but we couldn't keep the ducks off of it! Giant, heavy Muscovy ducks would just fly up onto it. They finally busted the thing to pieces! I've had success with baffles for the squirrels if I can keep the feeder far enough from the trees. I swear those squirrels can leap 20 feet! :)

Thats ashame! I sometimes see a pair of Mallards in my yard and their so pretty but I don't have a platform feeder.

Fleursdefouquet,

No I haven't seen it, but it does sounds like it's really funny!

Here's one of our feeders. A Cardinal is eating sunflower seeds.

Here's a 'peanut feeder' we have (on the far left of photo). There is also an old fence post that I use to add extra crunchy peanut butter for the birds (middle of photo). Birds love them both. Have other feeders and I'll try to find photos of them too.

Edited to add.........

There is a Downy Woodpecker getting the crunchy peanut butter on the post.

This message was edited Jan 1, 2007 7:06 PM

Great feeder thread Sheila!

Nice feeders & pics everybody... boy did this forum get cooking or what???


Awesome!


I put longer pegs on the cheap ones by drilling holes and putting in dowels with a dab of wood glue on the end.

A pair of Housefinches, and a curious White-winged dove.

Fleursdefouquet,

I think I used 2" strips of wood (bought at Home Depot) to make the sides. I had some old window screens laying around so I stapled the screen onto the four sides. Then I screwed 1 more 2" strip across the bottom which keeps the screen from sagging and also provides the connection for the post. Not the most professional but it works. A lot of birds like to feed on that type of feeder. I have a regular bird feeder also on a 4x4 post. Unfortunately, I need a two-step ladder to fill it each time. I bought some sheet metal and made a round baffle about 2 feet in height to put around the 4x4's thinking that it would deter the squirrels and/or raccoons. It worked on the squirrels but not the raccoons. They must shimmy up the baffle. I also cut out a 24' diameter circle from the sheet metal to put on top of the baffle but somehow they still manage to get past the hurdles and clean me out overnight.

Geez...and I thought the squirrels were bad.

A few seconds later, male House finch leaves and you can see the female better.. even the dove has to peep around to see whats going on the other side, lol.

This message was edited Jan 1, 2007 8:15 PM

Marilynbeth, the website video is not as good as the full video shown in the store, but here is a link. The audio makes it even funnier!

http://www.yankeeflipper.com/droll/specs.cfm

Debra

Thanks, Linthicum. I'll pass the instructions on the DH. You sound very handy!
Debra

The video is funny. I have to keep myself from watching it over and over again when I'm at the Bird Store

Marilynb, the feeder your cardinal is in is similar to the one a friend gave me. I love it. The crunch PB in the old stump is a great idea I need to do that, hopefully it doesn't feed ants and rodents.
Debnes, thanks, I am enjoying the thread too. Love your pics! Does that feeder do well when you have wet weather, or does the seeds clog or mold?
I have seen the video of the yankee squirrel contraption, it is funny. I just couldn't buy it though.

Nice capture Deb!

Here are some of our other feeders.

Another one

How do you fill that one? LOL!!

I was wondering that myself. Is it on a pulley system?

My dad uses a long pole with a hook on the end to lift them off the tree. Brings it down, fills it, and puts it back up. And if he doesn't fill it up after it's empty, the birds come up to our window and basically tell us to fill it or else. LOL. He has to use the pole on all 3 hanging feeders. The barn is the only one he doesn't have too.

They would never get filled at my house if I had to do that! LOL!

LOL. We hang them high because our house is a split entry built into a hill so it sits up higher. We have a big pic window in the living room and we watch the birds in there. We have elm trees lining the drive, a big cedar or something tree, an ash, 2 black walnuts, a big tree, 1 sycamore, a maple, pear, apple, hedge apple, and some trees along the fence line. The elms and big cedar are in front and are a sight to see when full of birds. Oh yeah, we also just planted a 4 ft tall sugar maple and a 3 ft ninebark in the yard this past fall. All of that on a acre and the squirrels and birds repay us for the hard work we do for them by eating the food and doing crazy antics.

Here's a cardinal sitting in our big cedar. You can barely see him but he's there.

LOL Sheila ....

Here's a full shot of the tree taken in Dec when we got our big snow.

Beautiful tree pepper! I'll bet the birds love going inside.

I will try to get a picture of it full of cardinals this week. It's breathtaking when its full of them. And it's really amazing to look down under the feeders and see the ground moving because of all the birds.

Pretty snow, but not envious of it. It gets below 45 around here and I pile on the clothes and don't go out. I can understand wanting to get the feeders where you can enjoy them though.

Wow, decorated with Cardinals; sounds lovely.

It is when you get at least 10- 20 PAIRS of them, plus all the other birds. We have gotten very spoiled by them and they by us. LOL

Wondering pepper, what is the main butterfly you see around your home? Cardinals love caterpillars the most, I try to make sure there are plenty of good offerings for the Cardinals where they aren't so tempted.. I am also working on another idea. That is a beautiful tree!! They love the thickets and thorn bushes. In fact if a person is concerned about prey birds around their feeders a Gnarly thorn shrub is great for locating your feeders. This way they can duck away from the hawk, owl, etc. into a tight thicket (like yours pepper), or a dense Rose bush.

Pelle I can see how if i come to this forum too much, and mark all the threads I really gotta read, lol... I could get tied up all day long!! LOL I will try my best to keep up. You might need to alert me if there is something I miss. I love seeing special things from the beginning to the end, you know.:-S

Doesn't it feel like a great home thread already though? Like it's always been here? It was furnished as soon as the paint dried!! LOL All these threads in one day. Bird Watchers are the coolest people you'd ever want to meet for sure. Usually people who care about some of the most important things too. Maybe they are a 'deeper' thinking kind of people. Does watching birds make one wise? Maybe so..

:> ooOO chirp
This is the protective Rosebush in back feeding area for the birds. Kinda blury through the window too, from before I removed the screen to take pics of the birds in there. The big hawks would get hurt maybe even stuck between the tight branches trying to get them in there.
People who are concerned that their feeders are open to prey birds could try putting the feeders by the Roses, or a tree like pepper's.

Pelle- Thanks for posting photos of how the baffle system works. I like it!

I happen to have one of those double shepherd's hooks that I am not using for anything useful right now. Now don't laugh, but I had decorated it to try to attract hummers. I did have some plant baskets hanging from it, but right now it is serving no purpose. (See photo.)

Is that where you have the baffle system on the shepherd's hook?

My shepherd's hook/pole is not very tall. Does it make a difference if the pole is closer to the ground?

This message was edited Jan 2, 2007 10:22 AM

Its purdy Becky!!
Prolly from way above it looks like a ginormous flower, I like it!

:-D Big Wide Smiles :-D

Morning Becky, You'll have to check the dimensions on your pole first (1" ) in width or what. Do you have a wild bird store near you? My baffle was made to go with this shepheards hook (I think their the same manufacturer, so I'm not sure if the same one would work for you because a regular s. hook doesn't normally come with a ring to rest the baffle on.. It would be best if you checked your phone book for a wild bird store or if you don't have one then call Lowes or a large pet store to see if they carry them.

Thanks, Pell!

My pole is square, not round and you are correct that there is NO ring to rest the baffle on. So the pole, hooks, and baffle system all came together as a set? Who is the manufacturer?

I am not aware of any kind of wild bird store in my county. Would a feed store carry such items? I do have a Lowes and Home Depot near me. (But I don't believe I have ever seen a baffle system such as you have at either one of those stores.) Do you mind if I ask you where you got yours? Maybe I can order one online.

Becky, let me and others look around online to see if I can find it. I really can't remember the name.