Some lessons of the bird feeder: Birds definitely have a pecking order. Never bet against a determined squirrel. And birds and squirrels aren’t the only creatures interested in its contents.
A few nights ago, a mouse came to try its hand at getting seed out of the feeder. It did not hang around for very long before it took off. Then the raccoon appeared.
For more than 30 minutes, it tried many different techniques.
The feeder is designed to slam shut under the weight of a squirrel, and that night I had it tied down to secure the seed inside. How the raccoon managed to get about a third of the seeds in the feeder is due to its dogged determination and ingenuity. The battle is on.
Pat Kasdan says
Too funny! Thanks for the racoon videos.
Emily Greenberg says
Oh, that’s so funny. My feeder is also design to shut with extra weight. But a few times I have found a pile of the seeds on the ground. I thought it was squirrels giving the feeder some hearty swings, but raccoons!?!