My backyard through the year has been a feeding frenzy and I would like to keep it that way - with a few changes. I have had numerous Pigeons, Doves, Grackles, Starlings, Sparrows, Finches, Woodpeckers, Robins and Blue Jays. Oh yeah! did I mention the squirrels (three of them)? I have replaced suet cakes on a daily basis (because of the bigger birds and the squirrels) thistle was every other day (until I moved it to another spot), the black oiled sunflower seeds also every other day (because of the squirrels - even though it's caged). I have watched this and decided that something had to be done.
At the beginning of the year I bought a decorative bird cage, one that you would put artificial flowers in, maybe a fake bird to add to it. The ribbing on the cage is as wide as the suet holders so what I did was hooked my suet holder in the center of the cage and hung it out on a shepards hook. The little birds have figured out that they can fit through the openings - this keeps the larger birds out of this suet cake. Now I replace this double holder once a week.
The Downy's that visit my yard were my concern - especially for the winter. Since they cling to the fence they figured that they just need to side step through or step down. Hopefully this cake will last a little longer and the baffle should protect its visitors in the winter.
At the beginning of the year I bought a decorative bird cage, one that you would put artificial flowers in, maybe a fake bird to add to it. The ribbing on the cage is as wide as the suet holders so what I did was hooked my suet holder in the center of the cage and hung it out on a shepards hook. The little birds have figured out that they can fit through the openings - this keeps the larger birds out of this suet cake. Now I replace this double holder once a week.On the back fence I have another double holder and what I did to this one is took one of those clear baffles and bolted it to the front of the holder. It took a while for the little birds to figure out how this works - a few of them got it down, some are still trying to get at it by flying straight at it. This keeps the big birds out and the squirrels.
The Downy's that visit my yard were my concern - especially for the winter. Since they cling to the fence they figured that they just need to side step through or step down. Hopefully this cake will last a little longer and the baffle should protect its visitors in the winter.I realize that this won't get rid of all the pigeons, doves, grackles, starlings, squirrels, but this should keep them from attacking these two feeders and leaving something for the little ones that visit. Besides without a few of these guys around - the Hawk that visited last year and has made an appearance this year won't come back.
Til my next post!
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