End O’ the log feeder, it has just been taken down. Video of pileated woodpecker, the only time I’ve seen him on this feeder. He was “allowed” on, even though he cleans out the feeder in no time, but he only came around once. Notice how his claws span such a wide area for standing there and how long his beak is. The flickers, however, were NOT welcome, they are too numerous and they also shoo away songbirds and clean out the feeder. They became slingshot target practice (don’t worry, my aim is bad, but at least I got close enough with the slingshot to scare away the squirrels and flickers for long periods of time). Too bad the squirrels got used to the capsaicin in the suet feed, they now tolerate it and they wouldn’t leave this log feeder alone. It was only effective for about ten months. Positioning a wire cage cloche on top hasn’t helped, though it does stymie the flickers. Brand new arrival is a “squirrel proof feeder”, which many many reviewers said works well to keep them out:
One reviewer didn’t, but they posted a picture with their feeder fixed right to the downspout, giving him lots of opportunity to wriggle in. I looked it up – the squirrel skull is apparently 1.4 inches in width (3.5cm), smaller than the feeder hole sizes of 1.5 inches. The skull height is almost 3 cm, so there isn’t much wriggle room for a squirrel who’s in mid jump or swinging around to get his head and subsequently his shoulders maneuvered in, but a fixed feeder with easy access would eventually be overcome. Above is the feeder we got, in a temporary spot…..it is also supposed to keep the flickers away from most of the suet, which it should be able to do. I don’t plan on putting in two cakes of suet, but rather 1 or 2 suet logs, placed more centrally so the animals that can’t fit into the “feeding space” can’t get to it. I started with the capsaicin logs I still have, but have better suet with buggies in it as well as peanuts. I’m planning on putting that in later, to drive the squirrels NUTS!
ellensgarden.us 