On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 09:23:44 +0000 (UTC), "Mike"
wrote:

Having seen the antics of the Grey Squirrel when visiting the North Island
and how they beat everything, the only suggestion I can make, is to have the
birdfeeder hanging free in a very open space on a thin but strong thread.
(In the hope that the thread will be too small for them to grip) and to have
a large inverted umbrella shaped very small gauge wire netting screen fixed
to the thread and its bottom edge being lower than the feeder.

"IN THEORY" (famous last words) 'If' the Squirrel can grip the cord and come
down it, by the time it has crawled down the 'umbrella' it will be too low
and too far away to get to the feeder. The trouble is, that in time it would
learn to get round the bottom edge and up inside I suppose :-((

Unless an umbrella of something very slippery/shiny is made, then as soon as
it gets to the top on its descent down the cord, it would slide off!!!

Tried something similar but without the umbrella. We replaced the
standard hook on a feeder with a long wire but if the wire was too
thick the little fluffy darlings could climb down it and if it was too
thin they just bit right through it and got the feeder onto the
ground.

JB