Conserving Rare Birds in an Ecosystem of Direct Competition for Food with Squirrels Using Squirrel-Proof Bird Feeder

Over the centuries, many birds have gone extinct, and many are currently endangered due to anthropogenic activities, inability of some birds to compete for food and the negative effects of climate change. To promote biodiversity of rare birds requires deliberate human efforts to create ecosystems that conserve them and enhance their survival. This work implemented a design-driven solution to an identified problem of squirrel feeding on bird seeds. Thus, it reports the design, development, prototyping and testing of a squirrel-proof birdfeeder capable of selectively preventing squirrels but allowing birds to feed from it. The design comprised of a compression spring and two concentric cylinders. Finite Element Analysis and Failure Mode and Effect Analysis were used to optimise the structural design and functionality of the bird feeder. Testing of the bird feeder showed that birds successfully fed from it, whilst squirrels could not access the feeds due to the mass differential mechanism based on Hooke’s law. Camera-recoded interactions showed that when a squirrel exerted its weight anywhere on the surface of the feeder, the spring compressed to displace the outside surface downwards to close-off the feeding holes and prevented a squirrel from accessing the bird seed. The prototype is a reliable solution to the problem of squirrels consuming bird seeds at home and in the parks.