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Last fall I bought my first “squirrel-proof” bird feeder – a Brome Standard. It’s rather small but a good size for the expensive No-Mess seed from Wild Birds Unlimited that I put in it. The feeder has a center post that is adjustable to increase/decrease the weight of birds that can use the feeder without the ports being shut off. That’s very effective for keeping the nasty grackles and starlings away. I use a seed catcher below the feeder to minimize waste. The Doves are good at cleaning up the fallen seed. This feeder has done a good job at stopping the squirrels.
My main feeder was a wooden hopper style that hung on a high shepherd’s hook with a squirrel baffle below. The squirrels easily jumped on top of the baffle, then climbed up the pole to the feeder. They would empty it in a day!
So I began researching the various larger styles of “squirrel-proof” feeders. Surprisingly several of them were dangerous to birds – even causing their death – because they got their heads or feet trapped by the moving parts if heavier birds or squirrel jumped on the feeder. I checked out the Brome Squirrel Buster Plus which seemed to be effective without worry of hurting the birds. It can be hung freely from a tree limb or installed on a special pole system.
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I opted to buy Wild Birds Unlimited version of the Brome system – made by Brome for WBU. Brome doesn’t sell the poles but WBU does. That way I was assured the poles would be the right size for the feeder. I added the seed tray to prevent mess underneath and allow birds to feed on the tray. The little red cup holds mealy worms.
The gray squirrels can jump from the ground up to the seed tray, but when they pull down on the circular perch, the port holes close. So far they can only eat the seed that birds flip out of the port holes. If I were a taller person I would
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have bought another pole extension to raise the height of the tray, but reaching the feeder to lift it off the pole to fill is currently at my maximum reach. So the gray squirrel wins! Red squirrel haven’t been on the feeder at all.
I’ve had to play around with the weight adjustment pole since there are 6 feeding ports. When 4 or more finches sit on the perch, it tends to be enough weight to partially close the ports. So far the birds seem to love the new system and took to it very quickly. Finches, sparrows, chickadees, titmouse, Downy woodpeckers, cardinals, red-chested woodpeckers have all been at the feeder. They seem to enjoy not having to share with the squirrels.
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This system is NOT inexpensive but I think it will eventually be a cost savings. Where the hopper feeder would be empty in a day, this feeder has needed filled only once a week! YAY!!
HAPPY BIRDS … HAPPY LIFE!
Don’t feel too sorry for the squirrels. They still have their unshelled peanut box!
12th District Election Results by County
On August 7 Ohioans in the 12th District voted for a House Representative to replace Pat Tiberi who resigned in January. We first voted in May’s Primary according to whichever Party ticket we wanted. Republicans and Democrats each had numerous candidates for their ticket.
The Republican Primary winner was Troy Balderson. The Democrat Primary winner was Danny O’Connor. These two would compete again in the August 7 election to determine which one would serve until January 2019, thus completing Tiberi’s term. This special election was the only thing on the ballot in August. So we went to the polls, checked in, then clicked one or the other’s name and hit SUBMIT button. In and out in just a few minutes.
In November’s mid-term election, we’ll once again have to vote for a 12th District Representative to serve for two years starting in January 2019. So we’ll be again choosing between Balderson and O’Connor. Because of that voters may not have bothered to vote August 7.
There are 3 complete counties and portions of 4 counties in the 12th District. Six of the counties are mostly rural: Delaware, Licking, Morrow, Muskingum, Marion, Richland. Of course, Franklin County is metro city. Balderson easily won all 6 of the rural counties. O’Connor only won the small section in Franklin County. In total, Balderson received 101,574 votes (50.2%) and O’Connor received 99,820 votes (49.3%). A Green Party candidate received 0.6% of votes.
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The results remind me of the 2016 Presidential Election where most of the U.S. is red but the population centers in New York and California are blue. That’s why the Electoral College is important in order to give people in less populated areas an equal say in government. Too bad we don’t have an electoral college for counties!
The above results are the “Unofficial” count. The absentee ballots and provisional ballots are to be counted and total results verified by August 24. There have been rumors around about dead people voting and of course, comments about fraud in Franklin County. Secretary of State Jon Husted addresses that in this SOS Article. It’s informative!
It’s possible that one candidate could win the August election but the other candidate could win in November. I’ve read some reports that said 90% of the Dems voted but only 40% of Republicans did. With much more at stake in November’s election, the Republicans are expected to come out in force. In November, Ohio will vote for a new Governor, and a strong U.S. Senate challenger, Rep Jim Renacci, trying to unseat long-time Senator Sherrod Brown. And of course, we’ll again vote on the person to be a House Representative for the 12th District.
So get ready and grab your popcorn!
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Aug 24 UPDATE: The final tally is in and Troy Balderson has won the election with 104,328 votes to Danny O’Connor’s 102,648.
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Posted in Central Ohio, Commentary, Delaware County, Franklin County, Politics
Tagged Danny O'Connor, Democrats, Ohio 12th District August 2018 Election, Republicans, Secretary of State Jon Husted, Troy Balderson, Troy Balderson wins Aug 7 election