Posts Tagged ‘feeders’
squirrel-proof
As a result of our focus on feeding the birds this week, my head is full of birds and squirrels and deer. Hence, a poem…..
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squirrel-proof
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plan for success
buy a feeder, smarter
than any squirrel
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fill the feeder
laughing
all the way
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drive into town
to buy more birdseed
confident, smug
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left turn
into the driveway
shadow
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white tail
brown thighs vanish
around the corner
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feeder empty
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Photos are from years past. We don’t have much snow here in southern New Brunswick!!!!!
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All my best!
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)
drear November: feeding the birds… and other wildlife!
Every winter, we feed the birds. I have records going back to 2011 and I have photos of birds visiting the feeder for many years before. I notice that I get chickadees, nuthatches and bluejays when I feed with only sunflower seeds. I also get finches, grosbeaks, sparrows and juncos when I feed with a mixed seed variety. Both grey and red squirrels visit our feeder. And a white-tailed deer.
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Last week we bought a new feeder, so I could have both sunflower seeds and the mixed seeds at the same time. I filled both feeders when we arrived home, later in the afternoon. The next morning, not a seed in either feeder. By the tracks all around, I know a deer cleaned out both.
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I don’t mind feeding a bit to the squirrel and deer. But not the whole lot! So this morning, I altered my tactics. I put the mixed seed feeder on a hook off our deck, so high the deer can’t reach it. The sunflower seed feeder can stay in its place, but after this I will only put a quarter of the usual feed there. That way, the birds can get feed during the day and the deer can nibble on left-overs without ruining my budget. The squirrel will be able to reach the feeder on the deck, but I will lure him away with peanuts.
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Do you feed the birds, and do you have any strategies for making certain the squirrels and deer don’t get there first?
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All my best,
Jane (a.k.a. Alexandra)
dear deer
This year, I moved our feeders to our front yard.
They are not so easy to see from the house, although I have a good view from the window of our library.
The deer have liked the new feeding station. We see them almost every day. They empty the feeder too quickly and also visit the compost pile. We don’t deliberately feed the deer, but they visit the feeders anyway.
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deep and delicate, hoof print
evidence, this space is shared
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deer, eat peelings by moonlight
one floor up, we sleep, unaware
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lulled by winter carbs
carrots and potatoes in the supper stew
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Copyright Jane Tims 2013
nichepoetryandprose 