Comments on Eliza G.'s review of Twirl-A-Squirrel
A Squirrel Too Far?
When spring started to become official, I began to think about supporting the local flock of acorn woodpeckers. I love to watch them at the birdbath, and a woodpecker moving around a tree trunk is a cross between a dancer and a magician.
The best thing to feed woodpeckers seems to be black oil sunflower seeds, and since the hulls can really build up, I decided that the shelled version would be the way to go. That gets expensive, fast, though, and the neighborhood is also full of squirrels. High-energy squirrels, I imagine they have quite an appetite. So I went shopping for a squirrel-proof bird feeder.
Enter the Twirl-A-Squirrel. The name says it all. YouTube is full of videos - check it out. (The weight of the squirrel on the feeder causes it to spin until the squirrel falls off.)
No, I didn't buy one. For one thing, I'm not sure it would be appropriate for woodpeckers. But the idea, the concept - isn't this maybe going just a little too far? Then again, the frustration of someone who is trying to help maintain a local bird population and ends up feeding squirrels instead is hard to overstate. I'm not sure.
There's something else called a "Yankee Flipper" - I'm afraid to look...
Eliza G.'s keywords: bird feeder
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Jenn A. says:
I saw this - I wonder if it works - I have lots of squirrels who go after my feeder. Squirrels v. finches, ad infinitum.
Eliza G. says:
Some bird enthusiasts were totally outraged at the concept, but I don't think it's a coincidence that none of them complained about squirrels emptying their feeders. I talked to someone who owns a Twirl-etc., and he made two primary points. One, it's not about injuring squirrels, you want to be careful where you put the feeder. Two, when the squirrels got so numerous that there were no longer any birds around, he had to either discourage the squirrels or stop feeding. He chose option number one. He still sees the occasional squirrel land on the grass and depart unharmed, and he's back to feeding and watching birds. It feels like a workable solution.
I'm staying with the birdbath and occasional handful of oatmeal.
Jenn A. says:
It seems pretty harmless to me -- it's not like the squirrel slingshot video that went across the internet last year... that was just mean.