Pack of 2 LARGE Squirrel Proof Hanging Dome Bird Feeder - ideal for smaller birds - keeps the food dry

This is a well made product and the theory behind it is good - but squirrels are clever! When I first put it up our resident squirrel slid down the wire suspending it, kept hold of the central metal pole above the dome with his back feet, elongated his body over the dome, gripped the edge of the feeding tray with his front feet, swung himself in under the dome, and had a very satisfying meal. I then fixed some old CDs to the suspending wire to act as baffles and make climbing down it more difficult. No problem, he just sat on an adjacent branch, judged the distance carefully, and jumped four feet horizontally to land virtually IN the feeding tray. So I removed all the nearby branches, which sent him back to the wire again, but it didn't take him long to work out how to get around the CDs and have another good meal. Finally I decided to fit the dome from the second feeder right at the top of the central metal pole - so that there were then two domes separated by about six inches above the feeding tray. This meant that the squirrel's anchorage point for his back feet was too far from the feeding tray to enable him to reach it with his front feet. I am pleased to say that I watched him try to get to the food a number of times, and each time he just slid off the top dome and fell down into the snow below. I feel a bit sorry for him, because I have enjoyed this battle of wits, but I think I may have finally beaten him - and I now know why they supply two feeders when you only need one! Other than fitting the extra dome, the only modification I would suggest is drilling a small hole in each segment of the feeding tray to let out the water that gets in there when you have driving rain.So I liked this product - it has kept me and the squirrel happily engaged for days - and I give it four stars because it eventually did its job. It loses one star because I had to work out how to make it do its job, and I hope you will benefit from my experience.

I agree with all of the bad points mentioned in previous reviews. Spindles, washers and wingnuts fairly difficult to fit. They seem to wear through the plastic in time and can rust/discolour. The hook needs to be a ring and I wired a ring around mine to stop the wind blowing them off. If in a gale they fall off then they break when hitting the ground. They need to hang separately with the maximum distance from any central pole (magpies in particular will reach across the gap to feed and it can take a while for birds to get used to this method of feeding.My feeders of this type lasted a year and I am totally impressed that bird seed/food stayed exceptionall dry in all that time. It has been a great pleasure to watch goldfinches, tits and robins happily using them.The 'spaceship' design is a welcome sight and I am sure that they are at their best when hanging from say a tree with plenty of distance from branches where squirrels can make sideways jumps onto the side of the feeder.Having said all of this, and bearing in mind all of the negatives, I am now ordering two more because I don't want my garden to be without such an easily maintained method of supplying dry bird food in virtually all conditions.Using suet pellets, polished sunflower seed, and mixed seed they are so popular with all the small birds except blackbirds which remain ground feeders.I would happily recommend them to friends and will be shortly buying two more as a present fot one of my family!

GOOD POINTS:The plactic is much thicker and better quality than it might seem from the picture.The baffle is very large so it keeps rain off and should be pretty difficult for squirrels.It looks nice.The metal spindle through the centre is solid and is in one piece (unlike the previous model where it was two sections).The feed tray is big and has some small drain holes pre-drilled.The baffle is held in place between two adjustable wing nuts so can be positioned high or low and cannot blow up and down the spindle in high winds (again unlike the previous model).POOR POINTSThere is a hook at the top rather than a ring (as previous) so it is much more likely to blow down in high winds (but can be modified in a vice).The wing nuts (which hold the baffle on) are a tight fit to the spindle and can be difficult.

Well I have 6 of these feeders, so I must be happy... right? Well to a certain extent I am. Without doubt they keep the bird food dry which is my main consideration. You can also adjust the height to allow large or small birds access. In fact i would go so far as to say that they are the best feeders that we have in our large garden, and we have had quite a few incl feeders from the RSPB. However i have 2 problems with these domed feeders........1) The screwed rod bit, incl wing nuts and the supplied washers.. especially the washers, are all standard metal steel. Not stainless steel just metal. Result is that after a couple of months it all starts rusting. I have tried to grease the exposed steel bits to no avail. Threads, wing nuts and those offending washers all start looking rather tacky. As these units are not cheap i would think it reasonable to ask why were they made with non rustable stainless steel, which would have proved so much more acceptable.2) My second problem is that the poly something or other plastic is very brittle. It may be hard wearing but we lost 2 feeders in the recent heavy wind conditions when both fell to the ground and the feeding tray smashed on each occasions. When that tray is damaged its goodbye feeder.That said these feeders are brilliant, expensive but good. I think that i have cured the falling to the ground problem by crushing and closing the open hook in my bench vice, but the rusting thing is something else. Stainless steel or brass fittings would have been so much better. Would have been worth paying a little bit extra for. All IMHO of coarse.UPDATE: If you are lucky enough to keep this plastic feeder for some years (I have 2 left from my original 6) be aware that the plastic dome does discolour to a murky yellowish haze, presumably due to the UV light, The rusting by this stage being horrendous. Obviously this product is not sold or built to last.