THIEVES have struck at a York nature reserve, leaving dedicated volunteers baffled and frustrated.

A specially built bird feeder had been out of sight at Rawcliffe Meadows and wired to a secure fence to deter vandals and thieves – but it has been stolen.

It had been installed in March as a replacement for two earlier structures which were washed away in floods.

Mick Phythian, a volunteer with the Friends of Rawcliffe Meadows, said: “It’s very heavy, so it would have taken a couple of very determined people to carry it away.”

The feeder was hidden behind bushes, and not used through the summer. It was not missed until the recent cold weather prompted volunteers to start putting out food.

The site, which is entirely managed by volunteers, attracts rarer birds like stock doves, linnets, greenfinches and tree sparrows. The feeder was made especially to keep squirrels and rats away from the food.

Dr Phythian said: “This one was made out of wood and was about 18 by 18 by 18 inches and set on four sturdy wooden legs.

“It allowed our volunteers to fill it up with seed and this to dribble out as required. Not only was it heavy, but it was located on the fence line out of public view and wired to the fence.

“It was massive. I brought it on a sack barrow, so someone would have had to get a trailer in to get it out.”

The feeder cost £50, and will have to be replaced from group funds which would have been spent on planting.

Dr Phythian said he had reported the theft to police community support officers who regularly patrol the site.

Meanwhile, Stuart Beaton is urging people to secure outdoor areas after two chickens were stolen from his farm shop.

The birds were pets belonging to his children, and were taken overnight on Tuesday from The Ainsty Farmshop in Green Hammerton.

Thieves made off with a light Sussex hen and a cross-breed cockerel with black and white feathers, as well as the hen house they were in.

Mr Beaton said: “The chickens weren’t worth a lot, probably about £10 each, but the hen house was worth about £300, which is probably what they were after.

“You would have thought they could have left the birds, though.

“In the run-up to Christmas all sorts of things go missing if they are left unsecured as people look to see what they can get either to keep themselves or sell.”