Somebody posted on here a while back about buying coconuts
pre-filled with stuff to feed birds.
I make up my own mixture with dripping and seeds and using
coconuts seemed a good idea.
For anyone interested - the while stuff inside isn't like
the inside of Bounty - its rock hard and needs to be
grated before you can eat it.
For anyone without a carpenters vice who needs to work
on the coconut - I cut* away a quarter - half way around
the "equator" and then down to the equator from one end -
the easiest way is to screw it to a piece of scrap ply
etc which can then be clamped to the bench.
A 5.5 mm drill, and a brown plug hammered into the
coconut screwed together with a size 10 1.5 inch
twinthread screw will do the trick. Then a screw
eye in the top to hang it from the branch of the
tree.


michael adams

....


* Wickes Forge Steel short handsaw.

If you put it on a bit of rope and hang it its then safer from the Squirrel
and less easy for marauding cats.
Brian

--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"michael adams" wrote in message
...
Somebody posted on here a while back about buying coconuts
pre-filled with stuff to feed birds.
I make up my own mixture with dripping and seeds and using
coconuts seemed a good idea.
For anyone interested - the while stuff inside isn't like
the inside of Bounty - its rock hard and needs to be
grated before you can eat it.
For anyone without a carpenters vice who needs to work
on the coconut - I cut* away a quarter - half way around
the "equator" and then down to the equator from one end -
the easiest way is to screw it to a piece of scrap ply
etc which can then be clamped to the bench.
A 5.5 mm drill, and a brown plug hammered into the
coconut screwed together with a size 10 1.5 inch
twinthread screw will do the trick. Then a screw
eye in the top to hang it from the branch of the
tree.


michael adams

...


* Wickes Forge Steel short handsaw.

On Sun, 14 Jun 2015 09:11:28 +0100, Brian-Gaff wrote:

If you put it on a bit of rope and hang it its then safer from the
Squirrel and less easy for marauding cats.

I wouldn't mind feeding the squirrels in our locality but there
aren't enough trees close enough to us for them to visit. There is a
local squirrel "hotline", if you spot a Grey you ring the hotline,
leave a message about when and where and people the guns pay a visit
to that location...

They must be coming under a lot of pressure localy as quite a few of
the pine plantations have been harvested in the last couple of years.

--
Cheers
Dave.

"Brian-Gaff" wrote in message
...

If you put it on a bit of rope and hang it its then safer from the Squirrel and less
easy for marauding cats.
Brian


--
From the Sofa of Brian Gaff Reply address is active
"michael adams" wrote in message
Then a screw
eye in the top to hang it from the branch of the
tree.


Sorry. Maybe I should have explained more fully. It is actually hung
from rope - well thick cord anyway. Which stays looped around the branch.
The screw eye is to make for easy detachment when re-filling. There's
another one underneath with a cord attached to a heavy piece of
conduit laying on the ground. To stop it swinging about too much.

Squirrels are quite capable of climbing down any rope.
And climbing back up again. And clambering over any large
soft drink bottles through which the cord has been threaded
to hinder their progress.

I already have a small saucepan suspended in this way
but this simply gives them somewhere to sit while surveying
the world while they eat their way through the food.
Same with the woodies who like feeding in pairs.
Or at least a pair.

I'm hoping coconuts will give them less scope. Which only really
means that the squirrels will put more effort into chewing through the
mesh of the peanut feeders - hand rolled double thickness - but at
least the smaller birds will have more of a chance.

The ring necked parakeets should be interesting as they're quite
capable of landing on horizontal cord and sliding down.

This whole effort is really to maintain adequate supplies while the
garden is unattended during a holiday.


michael adams

....

For "horizontal" read "vertical".

"michael adams" wrote in message
...

The ring necked parakeets should be interesting as they're quite
capable of landing on horizontal cord and sliding down.


michael adams

...

On Sun, 14 Jun 2015 10:08:33 +0100, "michael adams"
wrote:

I'm hoping coconuts will give them less scope. Which only really
means that the squirrels will put more effort into chewing through the
mesh of the peanut feeders - hand rolled double thickness - but at
least the smaller birds will have more of a chance.

Have a google for "squirrel deterrent pepper".

Apparently hot peppers such as habanero, scotch bonnet, thai, ... will keep them
away and not affect birds.

Learned paper about grey squirrels:

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1017&context=icwdm_wdmconf proc


Thomas Prufer