Can you spot the intruder?

I love having an eco-friendly yard, and do my best to support the cats, birds, butterflies and bees who like to eat around here.  I am not at all fond of the ants, raccoons, or deer, however.  Deer bring ticks and poop in the yard, and unlike a cat, are not thoughtful enough to cover it up.

One of my high school friends used to say of raccoons: what they don't eat or poop on, they tear up.  They eat the cat food, they eat the bird seed, and oftentimes, they actually take the bird feeders down, and try to carry them off or break them.  I thought I had outwitted the little fellow by getting a new bird feeder that had a metal mesh seed tube instead of the plastic ones, and a lid that locked on instead of just sitting on the feeder or twisting on.

I have been trying to get the birds back since my 2 week trip to Texas--it always takes several days for word to get around that food is to be found again.  I went out this morning, and the new feeder was still in place, with the lid locked...and empty.  Not a seed to be found, except for the ones on the ground.  I went through a period where I brought them in on the porch at night and took them back out the next morning, but frankly, birds like to eat breakfast earlier than I want to get up and put it on the table.

I guess we will compromise:  Rocky gets all the seed he can get to fall out of the new "critter-proof" feeder and the birds still have to wait for breakfast.  Annoyance and inconvenience--it's what's for breakfast.