Robin & starling proof / hawk resistant raised platform supplement feeder / egg shell

[Dave Duit]

Here are three pics of my Platform supplement feeder / egg shell that is robin and starling proof and is resistant to hawk attacks. Years ago, robins were snapping up the expensive crickets like there was no tomorrow. The starlings were in a close second place in devouring the crickets. The starlings mostly ended up with the business end of my pellet gun. Anyway, after many weeks of watching robin and starling behavior and also taking into account the ability of martins to learn the physics of entering the feeder; I finally managed to come up with a functional feeder. The yellow driveway markers that are horizontal on the lower part of the feeder are 1 and 3/16th inches apart; that height will ring a bell to most landlords. The top part above the roof has vertical driveway markers to keep hawks from picking off martins while they eat the crushed egg shell pieces I place on the flat roof. I live on a lake and the Canadian geese no longer land on the roof due to the driveway markers. The floor on the lower section is wood with a rubber floor, (just like the troyer gourd traction strip material). The roof is painted with black to absorb heat from the sun during the colder month in the spring when the scouts first arrive. The white corners are 4x4 wood posts. The entire roof section comes off for cleaning purposes and to place crickets near the center on the lower floor. The underside is attached to a 1 inch steel pole using a floor flange.