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vmalott
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| Posted: Sept 09 2007 at 8:15am | IP Logged
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OK, I have a question. Do you think raccoons would possibly drag a bird feeder off into the woods?
I recently have gotten back into the habit of filling our bird feeders. One is a plastic tube feeder that gets filled with niger/flax seed for our goldfinch friends. The other is a very sturdy, somewhat heavy feeder with metal work surrounding it (very pretty, actually), like this one.
It's the second one that has suddenly disappeared. I filled it yesterday with sunflower seeds, and was pleased to see a good number of chickadees, titmice, red-bellied woodpeckers, cardinals, nuthatches, and downy woodpeckers visiting. When I looked out this morning, the feeder was gone. Nowhere nearby on the ground that I can see. Of course, I haven't yet been outside to check the woods nearby. I'm just wondering if maybe the local raccoons decided to drag it off to raid the booty inside. 
Valerie
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lapazfarm
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Very possible.
Another possibility, depending on your location, is bears. They love bird feeders.
Have you tried looking for tracks?
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mary
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yes, they can carry off a bird feeder. we had a horrible time with raccoons - they climbed our pole and hung on the feeder until the entire contents were dumped to the ground. they did the every single night until we got a raccoon baffle (scroll down) best thing we did for our bird feeder.
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Dawn
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vmalott wrote:
| OK, I have a question. Do you think raccoons would possibly drag a bird feeder off into the woods? |
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Oh, yes, Valerie they most certainly would! 
I have found it happens in phases. There will be a week or two where the feeders (particularly the suet cakes) get dragged off. Usually they have not gone too far, but sometimes they are missing for a while. Then we go looking and find them under the hedges or behind the shed ...
Then the coons leave us alone for a while. 
I've heard it suggested that you stop feeding for a while to deter them, and then put your feeders back out. I never want to do that, so we just ride it out. 
Good luck!
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vmalott
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Theresa, I don't think we have bears in this part of Ohio (suburb of Cincinnati)...I think they're pretty much contained in the Hocking Hills region (southeast/central-ish part of the state).
I finally got out yesterday to see how far the feeder had gotten dragged off, and I found it about 10 feet away under a tangle of honeysuckle bushes. I also found the tube feeder another 5 feet away. Both feeders had mud on them, not caked on, but rather like a furry critter and friends had been figuring out the best way to get out the goods. The larger feeder has one muddy pawprint on top, which looks small enough to fit a raccoon.
I suppose it could be worse. Last summer they raided the tomatoes I had growing in a container on our deck. Didn't even have the decency to finish the whole tomato! Each one had a couple little bites taken out of them, then they were discarded on the deck.
Valerie
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jugglingpaynes
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We've had squirrels drag off our feeders. The only solution I know is to fill the feeder daily with only enough food so that the birds finish it. I never leave food in the feeders overnight. I tend to put out a simple mix of cracked corn and black oil sunflower seed because I know our birds will gobble them up in an hour. In the winter we put out suet. I also plant as much fruit and berry bearing shrubs and trees as possible on our property.
There are seed that are not as attractive to other wildlife. No one but the finches care for our thistle seed, and I've heard that safflower seed is also less desirable to squirrels (I don't know about raccoons) although if you mix it with other seed, they will still bother your feeder.
Had to laugh at what you said about not having bears, Valerie. I'm in a northern suburb 20 minutes from NYC, not really wild country, and yet in my 10 years living here I've seen everything from deer, skunk and raccoons to coyote and even a bear right down the street!
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vmalott
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| Posted: Sept 11 2007 at 8:12am | IP Logged
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jugglingpaynes wrote:
| I'm in a northern suburb 20 minutes from NYC, not really wild country, and yet in my 10 years living here I've seen everything from deer, skunk and raccoons to coyote and even a bear right down the street! |
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Wow on the bear in the suburbs! I remember my mom (she lives 1/2 way between NYC and Albany off the Thruway) telling me about the sudden bear influx several years ago in sections of NY/NJ. In over 40 years living "upstate" she had only seen a bear once (she thinks), but suddenly they were attacking the garbage cans and bird feeders on a regular basis. Seems like they have since gone back to wherever they had been.
But anyway, nope, no signs of bears around here. I'm not saying it isn't possible....but...  Certainly tracks would've been VERY evident in the mud, and we've not yet come across any scat on our hikes in our woods. Wouldn't that be news! Our woods definitely host whitetail deer, raccoons, squirrels, fox, and we're pretty sure there are coyote nearby, though not in our woods (cats would've 'disappeared' by now).
Valerie
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jugglingpaynes
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| Posted: Sept 11 2007 at 9:19am | IP Logged
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Deer can also pull down a feeder. They destroyed feeders at the nature center we frequent.
Don't you just love wildlife? So resourceful.
Peace and Laughter,
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vmalott
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| Posted: Sept 12 2007 at 7:03am | IP Logged
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jugglingpaynes wrote:
| I never leave food in the feeders overnight. |
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OK, why did this little nugget not sink in when I read it? I have learned my lesson the hard way.
Since we didn't have a tree with a branch I could reach easily to hang the feeder from, I got the brilliant idea to hang the large feeder I linked to above from our deck. My main concern was not the raccoons, but the birds not visiting it because it would be close to our cats!!!
Well, the birds were thrilled that there was food out again...it didn't take them long to find the relocated feeder.
It didn't take the raccoons long, either, I guess. This morning I awoke to find the feeder had gone missing again. I've not tracked it down yet, but I know the first place I'm looking!
So, the plan for now, until we can get a feeder pole buried and get the suggested raccoon baffle, is to keep it hanging from the deck, but to take it inside at night!!!
Heh....at least they didn't touch my pathetic single tomato that's growing on the deck...yet!
Valerie
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Topic: Bird Feeder Woes
