Tuesday, June 30, 2009

The bird feeder war continues

Posted by Boris at 5:44 AM
You've probably heard me talking about the ongoing war I'm having with nature in my backyard. What started out as a simple bird feeder has now turned into an archetectural and engineering project that rivals that of the Brooklyn Bridge. First it was the a-hole squirrels, then the pain-in-the-ass deer... now it's dirty, dirty raccoons that I'm trying to keep away from the feeder. Listeners have been asking for photos... so here you go:



The wood post is anchored into the ground with 80lbs of concrete. The feeder is attached to the post with a 3/4" thick metal conduit pipe. Resting over 8 feet from the ground, the feeder itself is squirrel proof. The bottom drops down when anything weighing more than a bird sits on it.







The pole is attached to the post with a series of PVC pipes attached with extra pipe clamps. The whole pipe can be lowered for refilling by releasing the pins and flipping back the wooden stop.





What's next? To keep the raccoons from climbing the wooden post, I'm picking up carpet tack strips today and attaching them all over the post. This should keep them from climbing the post and working their way to the metal pole. If that doesn't work, I may also add spikes on the arc of the pole.

Any other suggestions?
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6 comments:

  1. AnonymousJune 30, 2009 at 7:59 AM

    Hey Boris. Just spotted a dead raccoon on Sheafe. Any connection???

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJune 30, 2009 at 8:18 AM

    At some point on the wooden pole, attach a kind of "vertical wall" that the raccoons won't be able to climb around.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJune 30, 2009 at 12:15 PM

    Use a trip wire with a small amount of C4, when the racoon hits the wire, he won't bother you again... and you'll also be feeding some of the crows who like to eat road kill.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousJune 30, 2009 at 6:25 PM

    that is a very serious birdfeeder...

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousJuly 1, 2009 at 12:30 AM

    Boris,

    You will find the squirrels will jump from the pole to the feeder. You need to keep them from climbing the pole.

    ReplyDelete
  6. AnonymousFebruary 20, 2010 at 1:09 PM

    http://blog.syracuse.com/outdoors/2010/02/marcellus_man_uses_a_slinky_to.html

    ReplyDelete

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