Customer Reviews

Droll Yankees YCPW180 Whipper Bird Feeder, Dark Blue

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I own two Yankee Flippers, one Whipper and one Dipper. Droll Yankee does make quality products and stands behind their warranties but the only one that is squirrel proof, excluding red squirrels, is the Flipper.

Whipper. It's only squirrel resistant. Like the Dipper mentioned below the squirrels do the same gymnastics but they had this one solved in 1 day versus a week. Why is it easier for them to solve, simply because the perches are curved and so even when the perches are turned fully downward that some of the perch still horizontally juts out from the base and is just enough for their paws to grab. If you're debating just between the Dipper and Whipper I would recommend the Whipper because it holds some of the heavier birds and is easier for cardinals because of the curved perch.

Dipper. It's only squirrel resistant. It took the squirrels about one week before they were hanging on the feeder. My feeders are on a cable between two trees about 20 feet apart and the bottom of the feeders are about 6 feet from the ground. What they would do is walk out on the cable, slide down to the top of the feeder and hang their self over as far as possible from the top, then let go, and as they slide past the perches and feeding holes they put their paws into the feeder holes and hang there and eat. It's the more mature squirrels that do it best but it even takes them 6 or 7 tries before they finally succeed grabbing the holes as they slide by. The Dipper is not for you if you're feeding the heavier birds. Although it is very well built we had flocks of grackles migrate through for about a 2 or 3 week duration and they literally wore out some of the perches. Because of their weight, they need to flap their wings to stay on causing the perches to constantly go up and down thus wearing out the cable inside the perch. It was replaced under the warranty.

Flipper. It works really great and I had used them for about three years but they have one major flaw. Both my motor/battery sticks failed to hold a charge towards the end of the third year. The major problem is that you cannot go out and replace the batteries yourself and so you have to buy the motor/battery stick that costs $39 plus $10 shipping. In essence, plan on paying $50 for the motor/battery stick every 3 years. You have no other option. Yankee should redesign the motor/battery stick so an individual could purchase "C" size rechargeable batteries locally and manually insert them. I refuse to pay the $50 every 3 years and so I purchased Whipper and Dipper bases as replacements since the bottoms of these feeders are interchangeable.

I solved my problem by "squirrel proofing" the cable by stinging empty 2-liter plastic bottles through the cable and now can hang any bird feeder.

This is a well built feeder but it doesn't keep all squirrels from eating at it. We have one pesky critter that gets each of his four paws on a separate perch and as they lower it places his face right at the opening so he can just hang there and eat. It IS entertaining, I'll admit, but not what you'd expect from a unit made to prevent squirrels and heavy birds from eating at it!

I have had this one for over a year and bought another one. It took the cardnals a while to figure it out but they finally feed at it. Anything bigger than the cardinal and they fall off. I can't believe how much bird seeds I am saving just by not having those squirrels making a pig out of themselves. This is truly worth every penny. It holds 5 lbs. of seeds so you are not making numerous trips out there and I can't believe the amount of bird traffic that I have out there. This is truly a great investment.

UPDATE:09/20/2009
Still working like a charm. NO SQUIRRELS! I ended up buying another one so now i have 2.

So, I've had this feeder for a year and at first I loved it. The squirrels tried everything and couldn't get to the seed. Then, one particularly industrious squirrel figured it out. He grips the seed holes, hangs upside down (as in the picture) and then proceeds to chow down. I'm going to try the battery operated feeder next....or maybe a bb gun :).
It's a great feeder other than the squirrel issue. Bigger birds (bigger than say, a cardinal) can't feed on it, so the smaller birds love visiting.

I purchased this feeder because the grackles were emptying my other feeder in an afternoon. I hoped they'd be heavy enough to tip these perches, and thus be unable to empty the buffet. Well, the perches DO dip under their weight, but the curve makes them easy to hold on to, and the grackles end up at perfect feeding height.

If anything, this feeder attracted MORE grackles than my previous feeder that just had the little stick perches.

The feeder seems well-made, and may or may not prove a challenge for squirrels. However, in my experience, "nuisance" birds like grackles perfer it to traditional feeders.

This feeder gives anything over five ounces or so a rude surprise. Step on one of the feeder platforms and it immediately collapses. Highly shocking to squirrels, and even to crows, etc. Very clever feeder.

The feeder is very good. It is a heavy good built feeder. You still have to have a feeder pole with long arms and a pole where animals can not go up. A squirrel will go up the pole and hold on and pull the feeder to him. Racoons the same. The key is a good pole system and i found one in the squirrel stopper(see my other reviews). I really enjoy and have fun now at my bird feeding station. I really like Droll Yankees feeders.

Wonderful feeder, but as some other reviewers have pointed out, the smarter squirrels can figure this one out, by hanging from the bottom of the feeder. We solved this by using a baffle (a metal disk that is placed above the feeder, and keeps the squirrels from climbing down the wire). So far, so good!

I first saw this product on Martha Stewart show and kept it in the back of my mind for father's day. It was a great gift! In the seemingly ever continuing saga of dad v squirrels this has kept my a few more of the seedy pests from abusing the birdseed and gives my dad a little piece of mind. According to my father it works great against the squirrels. I recommend it to those that can afford it. It is pricey but if you are looking for a good quality gift that works, this seems to be the best bird feeder with an added good-karma bonus you know just in case you come back as a squirrel.

I bought this feeder after my Flipper bit the dust (a bear climbed up on my back deck and knocked it to the ground). I got the Dipper first to replace the Flipper (this is sounding silly already) and highly recommend it! I like the Whipper too and the Cardinals actually prefer the curved perches over the post perches on the Dipper. I gave this one 4 starts and not 5 because one squirrel has already figured out how to defeat the larger curved perches and get to the seed. The Dipper has been 100% squirrel & Blue Jay proof.