Low-Tech Squirrel Feeder Rings Bell When There’S Action

Tue., March 2, 1999

By Susan English susane@spokesman.com

A reader who lives in northwest Spokane called to tell us about an ingenious contraption he built. A few years ago, squirrels began feeding at the birdfeeder in his yard so he designed a squirrel feeder. It’s a coffee can attached to a board so the squirrels can’t tip it over, the lid has hinges so the food’s covered, and a low-voltage bell rings when the lid’s opened so the homeowner knows it’s time to watch the squirrels. He’s a retired electrician, so we know the squirrels won’t get zapped.

Three of the half-dozen squirrels that visit daily between 7:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. are tame enough they come to the porch to be hand-fed peanuts, grapes and salted crackers.

Check out the numbers: The second annual nationwide Great Backyard Bird Count took place Feb. 19-21 with birdwatchers reporting their observations on an interactive site on the Web.

Even if you didn’t take part, though, it’s easy to see which birds were seen in your area that weekend. Just click to http://birdsource.cornell.edu for the results.

No need to worry, yet: A few bird watchers have reported seeing house finches at their feeders with what looks like growths on their beaks or around their eyes.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology says these are not cases of the conjunctivitis caused by a parasitic bacteria that’s spreading among house finches in the Eastern United States. Rather, the finches here probably have avian poxvirus, which is usually not fatal unless the growth hinders eyesight or gets in the way of feeding.

Avian pox won’t spread to humans, but Cornell recommends cleaning and rinsing the feeder in a weak bleach solution to prevent the spread of the virus to other birds.

As to the bacteria that is plaguing Eastern house finches, Cornell says it’s spreading west and has been confirmed as far west as Waco, Texas, and Lincoln, Neb.

More information on the Cornell House Finch Disease Survey is available by calling (800) 843-BIRD, ext. 2473, or on the Web at http://birds.cornell.edu.

Back-yard journal: The traditional harbingers of spring, robins have been arriving in waves for a couple of weeks. They perch and fluff up their chest feathers, brilliantly colored since it’s breeding season. Headed north, they pause long enough to pluck the last of the crabapples, now withered, off the tree, and sing awhile.

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