Lunch is Served

We recently raised the back bird feeder to keep the raccoons from emptying it out.  The feeder has a door that closes if something heavy sits on the perch.  This is great for keeping out the squirrels.  But the feeder was close enough to the deck railing that raccoons would just sit on the rail and scoop out the seeds.  One night there were two of them, sitting side by side, stuffing their faces.  The buggers could clear out a couple of pounds of seed overnight.

Imagine my surprise when I glanced up Sunday morning to find a big ol' turkey standing on the deck rail peering in the window.  He nonchalantly strutted to the feeder and started chowing seed.  Evidently the bird feeder's new height was just right for him.

The feeder is certainly squirrel proof.  It does a good job at discouraging the bigger birds, like blue jays and blackbirds.  But obviously not so much for really big birds!  (Nor for other marauding wildlife that can reach in without touching the perch.)