Ingenuity!

When birds eat from the feeder that hangs on the deck lots of uneaten seeds and shells land on the deck. While we like that this attracts ground feeders such as juncos, we don't like the mess it leaves. 

Jeff decided to find a solution and bought an old wooden screen at Habitat for Humanity. He set it up so it sits on the railing. He attached hinges between the railing and screen, so we can tilt vertically to dump the hulls. 

It didn't take long for the squirrel to find it. When they get too close to the outer edge of the screen, it begins to tilt, and then they easily jump to the railing. so far its working out very well and there are far fewer seeds and hulls on the deck.