A Thief with a Screw Loose

April 7, 2015 by dorannrule

How to Choose the Right Bird Feeder: 9 Steps (with Pictures) http://www.wikihow.com My bird feeder.jpg

I knew the bird feeder was hanging from a slightly loose screw.

No time to tighten or re-position it under the eaves because we were just returning from vacation and facing shopping, laundry, and re-connections with humans. I filled it that morning and thought to adjust things later in the day. At least the birds would have a first meal after weeks of missing me.

But, in an hour or so when I returned the feeder was gone. Well, it must have simply dropped from that loose screw onto the ground but it was nowhere to be found.

The Mystery of the Disappearing Feeder

There’s a thief here in Virginia

who stole my perfect feeder

depriving me of viewing pleasure

and the birds their welcome dinner.

A search below deck, round and round

– no feeder was in sight.

Who planned the cunning caper

and not even in the night?

Who was the canny critter with all that derring-do,

who took such great advantage of a little loose screw?

Posted in Birds, Country Challenges, Country Thoughts, Critters, Humor, Poetry | Tagged bird feeders, Birds, country challenges, country living, Critters, humor, poetry, Virginia, Wildlife | 37 Comments

37 Responses

on April 7, 2015 at 1:32 am Kate Crimmins

Look for it in your squirrels’ favorite places. I have a suet feeder that goes missing often. In fact I changed both the feeder and the location only to find that my squirrels have taken Olympic jumping lessons and can now clear 10 feet no sweat. Think of it as their way of saying, “Welcome home!”

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on April 7, 2015 at 1:33 am notquiteold

Ha! I once gave my aunt an “edible” birdhouse made from seeds – my husband tied it to the tree should can see from her living room window. And that very day, she watched a squirrel chew through the rope and carry the whole birdhouse away.

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on April 7, 2015 at 2:01 am Seasweetie

Oooooo! I love a good mystery! Hope you can track it down.

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on April 7, 2015 at 2:45 am Debbie Spivey

When we fill up our bird feeder, it is basically like the call of the wild! They always end up broken and flung down the mountain….

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on April 7, 2015 at 4:04 am Jill Weatherholt

We had a raccoon who kept stealing our suet feeders. They’re very sneaky. 🙂

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on April 7, 2015 at 6:34 am dorannrule

Hmmmm! Could be, but aren’t they nocturnal?

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on April 7, 2015 at 6:34 am dorannrule

It was the call of the wild all right – and the feeder went right back into the wild. 🙂

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on April 7, 2015 at 6:35 am dorannrule

Maybe it was a bear? The plot thickens.

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on April 7, 2015 at 6:36 am dorannrule

Double Ha! Good thing I didn’t see that squirrel. He would have been in for a chase. 🙂

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on April 7, 2015 at 6:37 am dorannrule

Bwahahahaha! I love it – the “Welcome Home” message, but if I ever find that feeder it will be gorilla glued and bolted to the eaves.

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on April 7, 2015 at 6:40 am Debbie Spivey

lol!

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on April 7, 2015 at 6:47 am Kate Crimmins

Good luck with that. Squirrels are quite the engineers.

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on April 7, 2015 at 10:39 am Mary

Wow, seriously gone! You guys have some very strong birds ~ or?

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on April 7, 2015 at 11:14 am Jill Weatherholt

Typically, they are, but we did have a daytime prowler. We also had a black crow fly off with an entire suet feeder once. I hope you solve the mystery. 🙂

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on April 7, 2015 at 3:28 pm dorannrule

Ha! I think it’s the “or” group that made short work of the feeder. 🙂

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on April 7, 2015 at 3:29 pm apronheadlilly

Hmm.

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on April 7, 2015 at 9:01 pm Daniela

If that happened in Wellington especially on the night like tonight I would strongly suspect wind blew it away as it is fierce right now! But since there was not mention of the wind, squirrels and alike seemed to have been discounted … well there is not much for it but to suspect long-fingered inhabitants! Come to think of it … what kind of birds do they plan to feed from it -:)! Still lovely post came from it!

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on April 8, 2015 at 12:14 am tigerlilly

Very clever poem…..the case of the missing feeder. Me thinks you have a couple of squirrels in cahoots with each other but Lord know where they may have stashed it.

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on April 8, 2015 at 3:58 am georgettesullins

And when you find the culprit, will you be armed with a broom, rake, arrest warrant, gorillas or rolling pin? So funny ( sorry)…I hope there’s a sequel.

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on April 8, 2015 at 5:35 am Eliza Waters

Sorry you lost your feeder (the birds are, too!). My guess is either raccoon or bear, and at this time of year, both are hungry, so daytime marauding is not uncommon. I have found our feeders up to 1/4 mile away, so keep looking!

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on April 8, 2015 at 10:35 am dorannrule

Just took a careful walk around the house – no sign of the missing feeder. I will wander further afield tomorrow. 🙂

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on April 8, 2015 at 10:37 am dorannrule

I suppose I will pardon the culprit if I ever find him/her. That feeder was a real feast though so my guess is the thief got a stomach ache.

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on April 8, 2015 at 10:39 am dorannrule

Squirrels in cahoots! I love the image that conjures. Thanks for visiting my blog tigerlilly.

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on April 8, 2015 at 10:41 am dorannrule

It has been slightly windy here but not enough to carry off a fully loaded feeder. The thief has to be a critter. We do have bears here among other clever animals.

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on April 8, 2015 at 11:36 am Silver in the Barn

Dastardly doings afoot, Watson. Let’s investigate the squirrel’s abode!

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on April 8, 2015 at 12:29 pm dorannrule

Sherlock’s magnifying glass is failing since all the squirrels’ hiding places yield naught. 🙂

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on April 8, 2015 at 1:01 pm Eliza Waters

Good luck!

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on April 8, 2015 at 1:14 pm Silver in the Barn

The plot thickens. Sherlock must ponder this further.

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on April 8, 2015 at 1:35 pm nutsfortreasure

A Big Bear they yank my feeders and gazebo down lol welcome home.

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on April 9, 2015 at 2:05 am Life With The Top Down

I had recently received an edible feeder as a gift. Well, it lasted 24 hours! There was some sort of party at the feeder because it was out of the tree and my car was covered in poop.
They had their feathers in the air like they just didn’t care!

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on April 9, 2015 at 3:26 am Mama's Empty Nest

Maybe a bear??

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on April 9, 2015 at 4:33 am dorannrule

Too bad you couldn’t crash that party! 🙂

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on April 9, 2015 at 4:34 am dorannrule

That was my first thought. We do have them around here though they are very shy. I guess that filled feeder was irresistible.

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on April 9, 2015 at 5:51 am Mama's Empty Nest

We have bear here too but the first time I actually saw one in our yard was when we first put up our bird feeder. I think the combo of it and the raspberries ripening enticed that bear into our yard.

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on April 9, 2015 at 3:34 pm dorannrule

A bear in the back yard stealing bird feeders! Yikes.

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on April 11, 2015 at 4:29 pm pattisj

I wouldn’t put it past those ornery squirrels. I gave my daughter a small, square suet feeder and one of them carried it off! She witnessed it.

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on April 12, 2015 at 1:48 am dorannrule

Squirrels are cute and fun to watch, unless you are watching them escape with your feeder! 🙂

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