I have a camera bird feeder. I’ve been trying different locations throughout my yard to place it because it can create a very large mess of fallen seed underneath the feeder. Then the quail, and other ground feeders, come along and dig about whatever rocks, dirt, or bark the seeds have fallen into. And let’s not forget the weed growth from the seeds that imbed in the dirt. Then there are the rock squirrels. I also have to place it in areas where the squirrels are unable to jump onto it and inhale all the seed in one sitting.
My latest location was on the north side of the house where there is less wind to blow the seed off the platform, and where I can secure the feeder with rope so that it doesn’t fall over. Over the course of a few days when I would check the feeder I would notice that it was turned, either at a 45 or a 90 degree angle. I thought that it must be the wind. So I would turn the feeder back to its proper angle and go about my day. But alas, the next time I would come upon the feeder it was turned again. Finally, one day as I was going up the stairs I glanced out the north window of my front room and noticed that the feeder was knocked over. What in the world would have done that? I thought for sure that it was those damnable rock squirrels. Not only was the feeder knocked over, but the seed was all over the ground.
I opened the feeder app’s video library and started my search. What thumbnails showed the feeder turned in a different direction? When I noticed one, I would look at the video right before that video. I was stunned at what I found. It was not a squirrel that was messing with the feeder, it was a new predator, one that had moved into the neighborhood a few months ago. And it wasn’t after the bird seed.
