Badger-proof bird feeding
The reserve team had a predicament. Next to the visitor car park, there is a bird feeding station which was in the form of a metal pole wedged into the grass. Our bird feeders hung from the metal station, and the team filled them up every morning, which attracts passerines such as blue tits, great tits, greenfinches, gold finches, tree and house sparrows. However, whenever it came around to the morning to refill the feeders, they were on the floor, dismantled and sometimes broken. We soon uncovered the culprit… BADGERS.
So, there was a dilemma on our hands. The low height of the feeders and the uneven ground it stood on made it a simple task for the badgers to pull down and explore. The team needed to figure out a way we could still have the bird feeders out, yet badger proof them.
We went out to examine the area and a plan was soon hatched.
The idea was to have as much height as possible to make sure badgers couldn’t get their paws on the bird feeders. Instead of just putting a longer weighted pole into the ground, it was decided the hanging station could use the height of the wall behind it. So I decide to take on the task and got to work.
I cut and screwed together a frame made out of old fencing which meant the hanging station could fit snug on the wall. Then there needed to be something to hang the feeders from which would be attached to the frame. I settled for an alder log which looked like it had potential. Using the bow saw, I cut the log to size and sawed off any snags and then used the planer on the bottom of the log to flatten it so it would sit flush on the frame I had made. After, I screwed the log to the frame and drilled two holes (about an inch wide) into the top of the log to put pegs to hang the feeders, and with the mallet hammered two small pegs of alder in.
frame for fixing to wall
planing the bottom of the alder log
The next day we set up the new feeding station on the wall outside of the visitor centre and filled up the bird feeders. It didn't take long for the birds to find it, and within an hour we could see blue tits, tree and house sparrows and yellowhammers!
The next morning the team checked the feeding station, and it was still intact. We've monitored it over the last few weeks, and it appears to have been a success with no feeders dragged to the floor, and an array of birds!
in situ
Words and pictures by Madisyn Pett
