Objective: Develop a new squirrel-resistant wild bird feeder durable enough to both withstand squirrels and the elements for a long lasting, easy to maintain and innovative looking product.  Although they are hard-pressed to give up, the more frustrating obstacles in a squirrel's way the better. 

Plan: Create a design concept on which a proprietary mechanism can be engineered that can be applied to more than one size/form factor. 

Concept: Design a spring-loaded, sliding formed-metal shell that blocks off feeder ports under the added weight of a squirrel keeping the seed isolated. Metal, epoxy-coated major components are durable enough to take abuse from chewing attack. An added feature of an unstable metal umbrella further adds to a frustrating platform for a rodent to hang on to.