After a quiet night on Monday, when only a fox appeared on my Trail cam, last night it captured another case of wanton destruction of the bird feeder. Jude had deliberately removed all the bird food containers to see whether the stag(s) would still demolish the holder.
It snowed during the day yesterday, leaving about 3 inches of fresh snow covering the garden. The pictures below show the view this morning from our upstairs balcony. As you will see, there were lots of hoof prints, the main pole had been uprooted and bent, while the top part of the feeder was about 10 yards away, down in the field below.



This time I’d pointed the Trail camera towards the feeder to catch the culprit(s*) in action. Unfortunately, in the event, the first 10 second video was OK, but the remainder of the videos were only 1 to 2 seconds long. (I’m not sure if this is a fault in the camera, e.g. if there is constant movement when the ‘hybrid’ photo/video option is selected). Anyway to save me posting and you clicking through numerous 1 to 2 second videos, I’ve merged some of them together to show a) the stag’s arrival and b) the start of the demolition.
*One of the later videos captured, (not included here), shows the pole moving up and down without the stag in view touching it, so we suspect there is another one off camera pulling and/or pushing at the top of the feeder. Certainly we did catch 2 pairs of eyes on camera coming into the field the other night and someone in the village posted a picture of 2 stags during the daytime on facebook a few days ago. So we know there are 2 lurking in the vicinity.
Clearly they are simply looking for food and not vandals after all. But, to save dismantling the bird feeder every night, we are now going to move it up to the corner of our balcony, well out of the reach of those long antlers!
I’m afraid the following 2 videos are a bit jerky, but I hope you will get the idea.
Since I forgot to say it last post…… NICE RACK! 😉
Love these videos, Mike! I’d enjoy having one of these to play with. I bought our son-in-law one a couple years ago that he sets up at a friend’s farm. Fun stuff!
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Yes, it’s fun playing with a new toy. Though the last 2 nights have drawn a complete blank. I changed the setting to video only and maybe I altered something else. I did a test last night and I hope to check it later this morning.
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Forgot to say…
Best wishes to you and yours for a healthy, Happy New Year! Cheers, Mike! 🍻
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And a Happy New Year to you and your family too Donna. Many thanks for all your comments and kind words over the past 12 months, not to mention your fabulous posts, your support is very much appreciated.
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🥰
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😊
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try placing a salt block or two a distance away from your home.
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Thanks for the advice. For now I think we’re happy to leave a few things scattered around the garden for them to eat. The bird feeder is safe now. 😊
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