project - birdcage

thanks, Homebird. I rescued it from beside our rubbish bins - unofficial "recycle" area.

It has a slide-in tray with raised edges, I did have a small ivy in it, till I realised it was standing in a pool of water! I had thought that there'd be fewer bars underneath, then I could cut through and put a plant in that way.

Maybe if I took out every other bar on the sides, it'd be enough for birds to get in to feed and keep squirrels out? i did think of putting food in anyway, but as it is it's too much like a cage for any bird with any sense. The door had to be severely bent to get it open, so it's not very squirrel-deterrent as it is.

Or maybe weatherproof it and make it a nestbox?

I thought about a bird feeding station Fran with a tray inside to hold the grain , I don't think the birds have got the sense to know it's a cage ...... we have squirrel problems here but decided that we would allow them to feed from one feeder which isn't squirrel proof , it helps because they tend to leave the other bird feeders alone most of the time aiming for the one they can get at .. ....

lol that's a point! I don't want to hang *any* feeders in my garden, squirrel-proof or not - the food will attract them, and if they can't get at the actual food, there are the plants ... I lost five troughs of pansies and five of pentuanias last year though something digging them up - not eating them, just rooting in the soil and leaving the plants on the surface to die.

I don't *know* that it was squirrels, but I'd rather not tempt them back into the garden now I've managed to discourage them from coming in, not sure how I did that, maybe using some magic words ("gerrof, you ***!!!").

If I can get access to the green beyond our gardens, I'd happily hang feeders there, and leave some for the squirrels.