There was just one old birdfeeder on a rope in our tulip poplar. With the arrival of spring, we decided to fill it with seed. The birds began to show up immediately, and it was exciting to watch all the different kinds of birds showing up. Having grown up with outdoor cats, I wasn't used to seeing so many different kinds of birds.
However, there was a fly in our ointment. Really a squirrel, to be exact. The squirrels could jump directly from the tree trunk to the feeder, knocking out tons of food in the process. After a few weeks, Dale resorted to throwing critter food around in the back yard, hoping that the squirrels would eat that instead. But of course, they simply ate that in addition to the birdseed!
And so was born the Bayless Baffle, version 1.0. Dale was the crafter, using yellow plastic twine and an old yellow and orange plastic plate. He drilled a hole in the plate and suspended in on the twine about 2 feet above the feeder loop. Then he hung the twine a good 6 feet out from the tree trunk. We settled back to enjoy the show.
The squirrels were a bit miffed when they realized that they could no longer leap to the feeder. Naturally, they scampered down the branch and investigated the twine. Although they could fairly easily climb down it, the plate did confuse them. But only for a short time. Granddad didn't call them "Dr. Squirrel" for nothing! They quickly realized that the plate would just lay down flat against the twine, and that it was so small they could easily cross it. I think the entire baffle delayed the squirrels by about 30 minutes.
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