The method I chose to develop was tracking. But I now prefer to call it mapping.
Last week, I found that different animals’ feeding behaviours are closely linked to feeders and their biological characteristics. So I first observe the interactions between the feeder and individual species. I also add supplementary data for the feeder.
- height
- cage size
- fixed form
- feeder surface
- food placement
- below the feeder
The first feeder
First, this feeder is fixed to the ground with a smooth rod. This means squirrels cannot climb it. However, there is a tree next to it, so squirrels can jump onto the feeder. Besides, all birds can reach this feeder by flying.
Next, I will talk about the surface of this feeder. It is mesh‑shaped, and each gap in the mesh is only 3.5 cm. This means birds larger than this size cannot fly inside the feeder to get food. In addition, the mesh is very thin. So birds with big claws, such as pigeons, cannot stand on it. If a pigeon wants to stay on the feeder, it has to keep flapping its wings to keep balance.
Sometimes grain falls onto the platform of the cage. At this point, pigeons can stretch their heads inside the cage to get food. However, this behaviour usually doesn’t last very long. It is really difficult for the pigeons.
Finally, also due to the existence of this platform, there will be almost no food falling onto the ground, and no animals will move around the ground beneath this feeder.
So the classic routes that different species take when visiting this feeding area are：Squirrels jump over from the tree to get water. Small birds can not only get water but also eat the food. For pigeons and some large‑sized birds, they can only reach the water by flying. Occasionally， they can eat a little food at the edge of the cage, and only gain leftover resources.
The second feeder
This feeder is made up of four small cages. Two of them are mesh, and the other two are plastic.From my observations over more than a week, almost no one puts food into the two plastic cages. Only the two mesh cages get new food every day, mostly grains.
The cage with large seeds sits too far from trees. It has no support points. So big birds such as pigeons cannot reach the food inside. They cannot stand on the cage and keep their balance. For this reason, pigeons often use the cage closer to the trees instead.
Many small birds visit the cage with large‑sized food. They can stand on the cage easily.
Unlike the first feeder, these four cages can swing. There is no large supporting platform at the bottom of the cages. When birds get food, lots of food scraps fall onto the ground. As a result, many birds gather under this feeder. They seem to wait for the falling food.
The third feeder
The third feeder is fixed to a tree trunk. It has a flat structure. It is also a mesh‑style feeder. Its holes are relatively large, so it can only hold big, chunky food pieces.
This feeder is almost exclusively used by squirrels. Other animals may visit it, but squirrels are completely dominant. Once a squirrel shows up, other animals will stay away.
I think the fact that the feeder sits close against the tree trunk gives squirrels a big advantage. Squirrels can easily climb up or down the trunk and appear suddenly, startling the birds.Just like the second feeder, food scraps always fall around this tree. So when squirrels start eating, a group of pigeons gather underneath it.