Mystery of disappearing seed feeder (1 Viewer)

L

lizmcm

Active member

• Mar 11, 2005

• #1

A friend recently gave me a red mesh seed feeder (full of seeds) to hang in my garden. Last night I got a few steps into the garden with it, just as my phone started to ring. I lay the feeder down on a dwarf wall and came back inside to answer the phone, then forgot about it until this morning. But it had vanished overnight.
I know there are foxes about, but would they be interested in seeds - or is it possible that a bird has taken off with the whole thing?
Liz

 

H

helenol

Well-known member

• Mar 11, 2005

• #2

Probably squirrels very early in the morning.

 

birdpotter

Well-known member

• Mar 11, 2005

• #3

I knew a woman once who found an entire site of old feeders, bowls, birdbaths and even some heavy iron skillets she had set out for feeding the birds, that she found after following a Raccoon through the woods carrying one of her smaller feeders.

Keep an eye out! Maybe there is a squirrel 'dumping site' somewheres around!!

Elizabeth

 

Hanno

Ho Ho Ho

• Mar 12, 2005

• #4

Yupp, my first thought was Racoon, too. Do you have those in the UK? I know that they can be found in mainland Europe.

 

Andy Bright

Administrator

Staff member

• Mar 12, 2005

• #5

The number of feeders that have gone awol from my garden is staggering, everything is very secure these days. I've never actually caught an animal running off with the feeders, but squirrels were number one suspect.

Some of the feeders have been quite large and heavy... so i did wonder if the squirrels were working a double act with the foxes.

Nope, no racoons in the U.K nor the European mainland as a native species... though I think there some were 'introduced' in some parts of Europe.

 

robski

Well-known member

• Mar 12, 2005

• #6

I've lost a few heavy items too - latest replacement nut feeder is now double the size of the last one and is tied to the tree with string.

My wife did see a Raven make off with a fat ball holder once - talking of which I've noticed the replacement has gone awol this morning.

We do get a squirrel so all the nut feeders have been beefed up to heavy duty metal ones. I am sure it made off with the last metal nut feeder but I would to see it try with the new one. my next plan is to tie a house brick to it and if that does not work ...............................

Robert

 

Last edited: Mar 12, 2005

A

AndyC

Bird, What bird, where?

• Mar 12, 2005

• #7

I've seen a squirrell dragging a lighweight feeder in my garden. He chewed through the plastic hook on the tree and tried to take the feeder. In the end he gave up and just took the top of the feeder, so that I couldn't hang it back up. Hopefully he got a bout of indigeston!

AndyC

 

finchy

Well-known member

• Mar 12, 2005

• #8

I saw a squirrel once making it over the fence with a half full feeder.At least it was half full while he was running up the fence.............He must have forgotten that he'd destroyed the lid getting it off the tree though, as there weren't any in it by the time he got to the top !!

 

Hanno

Ho Ho Ho

• Mar 12, 2005

• #9

Racoons were released in Kassel, Germany, 70 years ago; today they have reached a density of 70 - 100 animals per sq. kilometer. Recent estimates suggest that there are 100,000 plus in Germany alone. There is a good article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2336797.stm

 

timmyjones

Well-known member

• Mar 13, 2005

• #10

I havent had any feeders robbed but to try and prevent it I hang all of my feeders on a washing line attached to two trees.

 

Jos Stratford

Eastern Exile

Staff member

• Mar 13, 2005

• #11

Andy Bright said:

no racoons in the U.K nor the European mainland as a native species... though I think there some were 'introduced' in some parts of Europe.

Click to expand...

Racoons reasonably common here in Lithuania - as Andy says, were introduced. See them a few times a year.

As for feeders disappearing, when I first started feeding here in Lithuania some years back, feeders were stolen from my garden - by an old woman (she even broke branches of trees to gewt at the feeders!). Feeding birds is not common in this part of the world and I guess she saw it better for to have the peanuts than birds. Worse thing was you couldn't buy feeders in the country, so each loss was difficult to replace.
Fenced garden and she got almost caught, then she stopped and I've never lost a feeder since.

 

O

Okie

Member

• Mar 14, 2005

• #12

Here in the Cimmeron Valley of Okla. it could have been most anything that carried off your feeder. Coyotes, Foxes, Coons, Possums, and Bob Cats, among many other types of critters. Most likely would have been a coon.