the mystery of the empty bird feeder

Ever since moving into our little neighborhood, we have discovered that we have quite the community of birds, both big and small. There are several cardinals (my favorite!), many little wrens and chickadees, and we've even seen large hawks and eagles. For Christmas, Tim received a bird book encyclopedia from Grandpa and Grandma and we've really been surprised how into bird watching we've gotten.

So when the snow began to melt, like last week, we went to Menard's and picked up a new bird feeder and song bird feed. I was so excited to get it up on our big tree in the backyard - the perfect viewing spot from the kitchen table, the window above the sink, and the sun room. It took a couple of days, but slowly the little birdies started showing up and circling the feeder. Yay! And then it happened...

One morning we woke up and the feeder was completely empty. Our first thought: squirrels. Nasty little animals. We started talking about ways to keep these unwanted critters out of the bird feeder - everything from a guard to electric shock. But in the meantime, we went out, filled the feeder back up and watched the birds gather again.

But guess what? This happened 3 more times - we go to sleep at night the feeder is full, we wake up in the morning and it's totally empty. Seriously?! After talking my bird experts (mom and Grandma), we've determined that it is not squirrels, but something nocturnal, i.e. a raccoon or possum. It is such a mystery! It makes me want a trail camera and/or live trap. Maybe we should just pull an all-nighter camped out in the sun room with flash lights, waiting for the hungry critter to reveal himself...