RSPB Ground feeding sanctuary narrow mesh - New design

4.0 out of 5

9

Unfortunately, had to return this item because the starlings can still get through the bars. I am happy to feed the starlings but they leave nothing for anyone else! The quality and value are good but may as well still use my wide mesh feeder.

Squirrels are amazing creatures, I have to admire them. After securing our new ground feeder guard with the pegs provided, and having watched our ground feeding birds take to it immediately, the next day a squirrel tunnelled underneath one edge, gained entry through the hole and devoured all the seed. We had some pieces of slate hanging around, so we laid them out in a rectangle that extended about a foot outside each side of the guard, and set the feeder and guard on top. Haha, fooled you squirrel!

Er, no...since the top of the feeder is designed in such a way that it isn't strong enough to rigidly align with the sides, the squirrel (same one?) was somehow able to wiggle his way in through the gap between the top and the side. This is a design flaw and should be fixed. On top of that, he also had started to dig under the slate which was made up of several pieces, and we realised it was only a matter of time before he managed to push the slate aside and come right up through the middle. So, we moved the feeder next to a large shrub for bird shelter, but on a garden path laid with paving stones. Then we weighed the top of the guard down with more slate. The guard was also attached on one side through a couple of gaps in the stones using the pegs provided. Haha, fooled you squirrel!

Er, no...the squirrel's next move was to somehow push the guard off square (the sides and top are not rigidly aligned - another design flaw, or maybe the same one) such that he could then reach the small, round feeding tray through the guard and drag it close enough to the edge that he could reach it through the bars. We laid more slate on the path next to the two sides of the feeder that weren't anchored by the pegs into the paving stones, so that the guard couldn't move. Haha, fooled you squirrel!

That did work for a while. We put the trail cam out to see what was happening when we weren't watching. A day or two later - was that a large, adult squirrel inside the guard? Yes! Looking at the photos taken 10 seconds apart, we could see he took some time trying to squeeze through the bottom row of holes, aided and abetted by a mate who seemed to be trying to push him through, and then he was in! We couldn't tell exactly which hole he came through. A few minutes later, the trail cam showed he was no longer there, and so we never did see through which hole he was able to exit.

So, what to do? The birds love the feeder - it's in constant use by blue tits, great tits, dunnocks, robins, chaffinches, and even a marsh tit. The squirrel who gained access didn't actually eat a lot of seed, so we've decided we're just going to live with him. Perhaps he'll decide it's more trouble than it's worth. I'd buy another one of these guards, but will skip all the learning steps and go straight to the path setup with weighted top. One benefit of that, by the way, is that it's somewhat protected from rain and a lot protected from bird droppings, so maybe a solid roof is something else for the designers to consider.

What fun! Maybe we'll attract a brambling, or even the hawfinches which have been seen in our area....

I have squirrel feeders and that keeps the squirrels away from the bird feeders. The main problem is pigeons. There are a lot of them and they can clean out a ground feeder in minutes. This guardian keeps them out but I am sorry that it keeps the blackbirds out as well. It would be nice to have an option that lets mid-size birds in while keeping large birds out.

Just installed this and it certainly keeps the pigeons away, but several balckbirds have managed to squeeze in, which is OK unless I have to rescue them. Now one of the squirrels moved in and hoovered up the remaining food. In a dry stone wall behind the table I used to have field mice which were welcome to share the bird food. Now they've disappeared and small brown rats have moved in, the smallest can get in the cage but the larger one comes out a big hole he's excavated at the bottom of the wall. It's all very amusing but doesn't help the birds much.

Bought this as we have several cats mooching around. Seems good quality although a tad expensive. We have a badger that visits every night and devours any bird food that's left. So we had an enormous hole in the lawn the following morning. Have consigned it to the garage but would recommend if you're badger free.

Good design which allows a decent gap around the edge of the feeder to stop the bigger birds reaching the table if they put their heads through.

Very disappointed though that it started to rust WITHIN ONE WEEK of being used!!... it’s going to look very tatty very quickly so not actually worth the money despite the good design.

I was very excited to take delivery of the cage and tray. I thought “Finally. Tough luck squirrels.” That was until this morning. I looked out my bedroom window and I see a squirrel squeezing it’s head and body through the holes. What a disappointment! I’m at a loss now as to what I can do to stop them. Help me please. I’m at war with them. Good quality materials and certainly a reasonable deterrent . Not quite the success I was hoping for.

This is fantastic for protecting mealworms from magpies, jackdaws and seagulls who would otherwise hoover everything up. The robins and sparrows are very appreciative. The blackbirds seemed sadly locked out initially and so I got them a wider mesh sanctuary. But it turned out to my surprise to be unnecessary as a female blackbird has now found she can squeeze through the narrow mesh after all! She is feeding babies so is very determined!

I'm afraid I'm not using this for its intended purpose- we had a roosting box come down last spring, and never got around to putting it back up, (the birds never seemed to use it) and after a month or so I realised our resident woodmice had moved into it.

Wanting to protect them from the high numbers of neighbourhood cats we have, I got this to put over the box. So far it's thwarted the cats, and the mice happily go about their business cleaning up the peanuts dropped by the woodpeckers.