I replaced many bird feeders before I finally caught the culprits in daylight hours. I wondered how the feeders ended up empty and in pieces and then I knew.
I live in a small hamlet alongside a lake. There is a farm behind my property and my backyard fence happens to be a barbed wire fence that belongs to the farmer. It's great for keeping his horses out of my yard but not so great for anything else.
The white tail deer that traveled through his wooded area, found their
way into my yard and then to my bird feeders. When the feeders were
empty, they pruned the shrubs at the back of the yard.This has gone on for years now. My neck ached as I watched them twist their long necks to reach the seeds in the tray feeder. I've stopped using hanging feeders. There had to be at least a dozen feeders in the recycle bin; broken by the sharp little teeth that grabbed hold of the perches.
I couldn't stop them from coming so decided to add some more appropriate feed to a tray feeder so the deer would leave the sunflower seeds alone. Eventually they weaned off the bird seed. Thank goodness. That seed was twice as expensive as the grain mix. We had a little chat. "I'll give you some feed through the winter and you leave my shrubs alone." That's how our relationship began.
The deer continue to visit the yard. I am able to tell them apart now. There are timid ones and aggressive ones. There is a hierarchy with specific ones able to eat first. My grand daughters have had many opportunities to watch them; something that they cannot do in an urban area.
I wondered what to do in the summer when my garden was growing. A motion sensor sprinkler took care of that problem. It also took care of the neighborhood dogs,cats, skunks and porcupines.
When winter rolls around and the sprinkler is gone, they are back. Our relationship began in 2013 and continues through today.
More photos at
https://www.facebook.com/Ramblings-of-an-Outdoor-Girl-1015659961820012/
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