A Pain In the Back

Well, after several years of fighting them, I have finally found a bird feeder that squirrels and chipmunks cannot get to. I’ve been through the cylinder type feeders, the “squirrel proof” ones and several others. Not only is it frustrating to lose out to the four-legged critters, it’s a real pain in the back. The feeder I have created is 100% guaranteed to be squirrel proof. Here is a photo of the Isobardave Platform Feeder in my yard in Michigan. It’s been in operation since last fall, so I’ve proved it’s success in the fall, winter and spring. Yeah, it ain’t pretty but it works.

Isobardave Platform Feeder

There are two key things that you must do to make a feeder squirrel proof. First, you have to place the feeder away from trees and high enough off the ground so critters cannot jump onto it. Second, the post has to be covered with 4″ PVC plastic tubing. You must use at least 4″ tubing.

Doing these two things will greatly enhance your success rate. The benefits of this feeder are that you can attract all kinds of birds, even the larger blue jays. Another benefit is that there is virtually no seed wasted, so it keeps the cost of feeding birds to a minimum.

Want to build one? It’s really easy. Here’s what you need.
-6 feet of 4″ PVC tubing
-2 feet of 1 1/4″” PVC tubing
-10 feet (or one full section) of 1″ galvanized piping with threads on each end
-1 three-inch galvanized platform mount with threads
-10 feet of 1″ x 3″ pine (or 2″ x 4″)
-6 feet of 1″ x 1/2″ strips or other thin pieces of wood to secure the screening on the wood box
-Screening – like you’d use to replace a screen window on your house

Here’s how to build it;

-Cut the PVC tubing to specified sizes. A hack saw works great.
-Cut the galvanized pipe so that about 18″ goes in the ground (6′ feet plus 18″)
-Build the box by cutting the wood into 18″ long pieces. Nail them together at the corners to form a square.
-Cut another piece of wood to fit inside the center of the box and nail/screw it in place
-Mount the galvanized platform mount to the center of the inside board
-Cut screening material so that it hangs over the edges of the box by about 2″ on all sides
-Use screws or tacks to hold the screening in place by fastening the pine slates on all four sides, making sure to pull the screening tight across the top of the box.
-Dig a hole about 18″ deep
-Place the 1 1/4″” PVC pipe in the hole and fill in the remaining dirt. Make sure the pipe is exactly vertical.
-Screw the long length of galvanized pipe to the mount on the feeder box.
-Slip the 4″ PVC onto the galvanized pipe.
-Put the galvanized pipe with everything attached into the 1 1/4″ PVC pipe in the ground
-Push the 4″ PVC into the ground and surround with dirt (so the devils cannot climb up inside the PVC)

Platform Feeder Box

Here is a closer shot of the galvanized mount.

Platform Mount

The Isobardave Platform feeder has had a huge impact on the number and type of birds visiting my yard. It’s a constant buzz out there. There are so many birds that now there are two Coopers hawks that have made a home in my neighborhood as the food supply has sharply increased. I guess this is the only downside to my new feeder . . .it feeds the hawks too.

I am providing the plans for free because the birds deserve it (and so do the squirrels!). Do me a favor and comment on my feeder plan so we can hear what others are experiencing. And also, spread the word by emailing to your friends a link to this post. If anyone has any improvement suggestions, please post them here.

I know, it’s pretty ugly. But it works!

Jane Scott, my Aunt Jane turns 90 next month. Jane spent most of her writing career at the Cleveland Plain Dealer. She loved being a reporter.

One of her friends created a video tribute to her on YouTube. Pretty nice. Take a look

One of her characteristics that often gets over looked was her interest and passion for new artists entering the music scene. In fact her interest in discovering new talent is what drove her each day. She spent hours listening to demo albums and long nights in the clubs around town. She wrote about what she found. This real interest in new talent and her hard work set her apart and established her as the ‘must meet’ journalist in Cleveland.

She was a night owl for sure and we all realized that when she visited the family up in Michigan. We were unpleasantly reminded each Christmas morning. We were not allowed to open any presents until Aunt Jane woke up. After a few years we got smart and pre-set the alarm clock in her room. She got wise to that really quickly. She followed her own clock that’s for sure. That was a pain in the back for us kids!

On her visits to Michigan to see our family, I remember her opening up the trunk of her car and it being filled with albums. There must have been 100 albums scattered across the trunk with just a few stacked nicely in a box. It was like that on every visit. As a teenager at the time, I recall recognizing very few of the artists. But that was how she worked.

I went to see Paul McCartney and Wings with her back in the mid to late 70’s. The concert was at the old Olympia Stadium in Detroit. It was a great show and Aunt Jane was taking notes the whole time. During the concert the person next to me passed over a joint and I looked at him and said “hey man, knock it off, I’m with my AUNT!”. She and I left our seats towards the end of the concert to go back stage. We got down there and she pressed hard to get in, not taking no for an answer and as I remember it she got in but was unable to get with Paul.

I went to London to attend the University of London for a semester. While I was there I spent a lot of my free time in the clubs. I made notes of the bands that I saw and sent a letter to Aunt Jane. She created a column covering the music scene that summer in London and referenced the bands that I had pointed out to her. Dixies Midnight Runners was one of them. I thought that was really nice of her.

She developed a national reputation and all the acts that came to town had to grant an interview with her. Her celebrity skyrocketed and People Magazine and the Wall Street Journal each wrote a piece on her. I remember seeing her in People. I was standing at a bus stop in San Francisco and glanced over the shoulder of a woman next to me reading a magazine. I recognized Aunt Jane in the article she was reading and blurted out “holy crap that’s my aunt”. The woman looked over at me and just frowned. The WSJ article was on the front page, center column, which I think amused my dad some (her brother) as he was a captain of industry at Ford but never got on the front page of the Journal (which might have been a gift actually).

So, congratulations to a real rock and roll legend. And a pretty good aunt to boot!

Do you have any memories to share about Jane Scott? I’d love to hear them.