 "Wow this thing works!" | 2009-09-12 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2SAULZXE5TEXJ |
| I used to be out there four and five times a week to fill my old feeder. Every critter in the area came and emptied the feeder, the black birds were the worst driving all the smaller birds away. No more, set the new bird feeder to 2. Now the smaller birds get to eat, I don't have to fill the feeder but once every 8 to 10 days. A great buy thank-you. TJM |
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| "my birdfeeder purchase" | 2009-08-16 |
| - Reviewed By User: AFN5CW7MR3X4A |
| The squirrels did a number on my old birdfeeder, and I needed a new one...The birds were almost knocking on my door, wondering what happened and where was their beloved feeder..LOL....I went on Amazon, best in the world, and found one, I thought looked similar to the old one...It was delivered in 3 days, love that.......The feeder was exact except it was now double the size of old one...Love it, up and keeping the birds happy......Thank you Amazon, I am always satisfied in your service and use you for everything...Xmas is on it's way and again I will use your service like last year.....Thank You |
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 "Mostly squirrel-proof -- but watch out for the deer!" | 2009-06-20 |
| - Reviewed By strandline |
This hopper-style feeder is the sturdiest and most successfully squirrel-proof design I have encountered. The principle is simple: when weight is applied to the spring-balanced perch, a wide bar descends to cover the seed.
You can adjust the tension of the perch bar to either allow or frustrate larger birds in addition to discouraging squirrels. Naturally, if you have it set to the most sensitive level, a whole bunch of little birds can have the same effect, although they seem to mind only momentarily. I have found that the crows and grackles are more successful at figuring out how to get the seed than the squirrels (they are lighter after all), but, even so, these larger birds cannot pig out the way they would sitting comfortably.
The biggest problem we've had is because of deer. They can either push the feeder with their noses (if the feeder is hanging) to spill the seed onto the ground, or get their tongues in the holes without closing the cover. To avoid remounting or re-hanging, make sure this hangs or is mounted on a pole sufficiently high off the ground.
The feeder holds a large amount of seed, requiring less frequent fill-ups. If you are frustrated with squirrels, get this. You won't regret it. |
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 "A good feeder, but.... ***UPDATED REVIEW***" | 2009-05-26 |
| - Reviewed By cosmosjon |
***UPDATE*** It appears that I can't change the actual 'star-rating' but having had this feeder for about six weeks, I'm upping my rating to 4 and a half stars.
For many years, I've used the "tube-type" feeders and though I liked them, I found they were somewhat of a pain to fill. There was always a lot of spilled seed, and removing the top was a multi-step process.
On this feeder, the roof is hinged and remains upright without having to hold it while it's being filled. Filling it requires no finesse --Open the top, dump in a car-wash-bucket-full of seed, close the top and you're done.
The squirrel-thing. Despite my initial disappointment (noted in the original review, below), it does appear that having increased the sensitivity on the perch has COMPLETELY discouraged the squirrels from attempting to get any bird seed. It took about two weeks from them to give up on the idea that they could get in --now they hang out on the ground waiting for sloppy birds to spray seed on them. (Which is fine by me, and will likely cut down on the amount of sprouting seedlings!)
All in all... a great feeder, and despite my initial doubts, I've come to like it quite a bit.
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HERE IS THE ORIGINAL REVIEW....
The good:
- Fairly well constructed, with a big exception noted below, under "the bad" things about this feeder.
- The hanger is well designed, and while I was concerned that it would quickly tilt, the three points of attachment (on each side) of the feeder keep it perfectly level.
- The "squirrel bar" (that drops a barrier in front of the feeding holes) is adjustable. It can be shifted so that very little weight causes the bar to drop --helpful, as if in my case, the squirrels have figured out how to "straddle" the bar and the feeder so as to put as little weight as possible on the bar. Yes, apparently I have very smart squirrels! :)
The BAD -
- For the first several weeks, I had the feeder mounted on a pole. While my pole was perfectly vertical, the feeder seemed to be tilting further and further back every single day, to the point that I thought it would snap off the pole and fall to the ground. It turns out that the pole adapter (which is a metal plate that attaches to the bottom) is made of rather THIN METAL that quickly deformed and caused the feeder to tilt. (For the record, the mounting pole itself remained vertical the whole time.)
- The "squirrel-proof" feature works in theory (and perhaps for "developmentally challenged" squirrels), but for my Mensa-level squirrels, they figured out how to put most of their weight on the feeder so as to prevent the bar from dropping down. (I'VE POSTED A PHOTO OF ONE OF THESE EINSTEIN/HAWKING SQUIRRELS IN THE PRODUCT PHOTOS, ABOVE.) I have since adjusted the bar to make it more weight sensitive, and it SEEMS to be working, but I suspect my squirrels are drawing up plans to overcome this new obstacle even as this is written!
- Jonathan Sabin |
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| "A GREAT feeder... ***UPDATED REVIEW***" | 2009-05-26 |
| - Reviewed By cosmosjon |
***UPDATE*** It appears that I can't change the actual 'star-rating' but having had this feeder for about six weeks, I'm upping my rating to 4 and a half stars.
For many years, I've used the "tube-type" feeders and though I liked them, I found they were somewhat of a pain to fill. There was always a lot of spilled seed, and removing the top was a multi-step process.
On this feeder, the roof is hinged and remains upright without having to hold it while it's being filled. Filling it requires no finesse --Open the top, dump in a car-wash-bucket-full of seed, close the top and you're done.
The squirrel-thing. Despite my initial disappointment (noted in the original review, below), it does appear that having increased the sensitivity on the perch has COMPLETELY discouraged the squirrels from attempting to get any bird seed. It took about two weeks from them to give up on the idea that they could get in --now they hang out on the ground waiting for sloppy birds to spray seed on them. (Which is fine by me, and will likely cut down on the amount of sprouting seedlings!)
All in all... a great feeder, and despite my initial doubts, I've come to like it quite a bit.
*******************************
HERE IS THE ORIGINAL REVIEW....
The good:
- Fairly well constructed, with a big exception noted below, under "the bad" things about this feeder.
- The hanger is well designed, and while I was concerned that it would quickly tilt, the three points of attachment (on each side) of the feeder keep it perfectly level.
- The "squirrel bar" (that drops a barrier in front of the feeding holes) is adjustable. It can be shifted so that very little weight causes the bar to drop --helpful, as if in my case, the squirrels have figured out how to "straddle" the bar and the feeder so as to put as little weight as possible on the bar. Yes, apparently I have very smart squirrels! :)
The BAD -
- For the first several weeks, I had the feeder mounted on a pole. While my pole was perfectly vertical, the feeder seemed to be tilting further and further back every single day, to the point that I thought it would snap off the pole and fall to the ground. It turns out that the pole adapter (which is a metal plate that attaches to the bottom) is made of rather THIN METAL that quickly deformed and caused the feeder to tilt. (For the record, the mounting pole itself remained vertical the whole time.)
- The "squirrel-proof" feature works in theory (and perhaps for "developmentally challenged" squirrels), but for my Mensa-level squirrels, they figured out how to put most of their weight on the feeder so as to prevent the bar from dropping down. (I'VE POSTED A PHOTO OF ONE OF THESE EINSTEIN/HAWKING SQUIRRELS IN THE PRODUCT PHOTOS, ABOVE.) I have since adjusted the bar to make it more weight sensitive, and it SEEMS to be working, but I suspect my squirrels are drawing up plans to overcome this new obstacle even as this is written!
- Jonathan Sabin |
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| "Excellent Feeder!" | 2008-12-02 |
| - Reviewed By User: A2TJA3KYOKJJT7 |
| This was a gift for my mother, who is an avid birdwatcher. She was thrilled about this item....said that it is a lot bigger than the feeder she replaced. She said its' material would make it last, since it's coated with a smooth water-resistant paint on metal, so it's great for all weather. She also likes that she can set the weight on it for a specific animal, so that if it was perched on it, the stand would shut the feeder area, therefore protecting the seed for the birds. She loves it! |
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