Raccoon with a Sweet Tooth?

Every morning for the past week or two the hummingbird feeder that hangs off our back deck has been pulled toward the deck rail and emptied of most of the nectar. We’ve never caught the culprit in action, but think it’s probably the same fat raccoon we’ve seen occasionally crossing our back yard at twilight. Yesterday morning, some large red ants also had discovered the feeder, and I think they were able to get in once the water moat in the middle had been emptied. Dozens of them were clustered inside the top and on the sides. I rinsed them all out, refilled the feeder, and tried once more, but when I found the same thing again this morning, I took down the feeder and moved it to a different spot, this time in the front yard.

Three Ruby-throated Hummingbirds hummed and hovered around the deck off and on all morning, but I hope they’ll find the new spot soon.

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