the raccoon problem

We've had a bit of a raccoon problem lately.
They come in the middle of the night and raid our bird-feeder.  We have a small one next to a fence.  They can access the top of the fence from the yard next door.  And they sashay along until they get next to the feeder. Then the hard part starts. They have to reach way down and across to grab the feeder.   Then, holding on to the feeder as best they can, they try to bring it toward them and hug it. They keep almost falling off the fence while clutching the round feeder.
I have my window open a bit at night and can hear this rustling and tinkering.  So one night I get up, go downstairs and open the patio door - shout, wave a newspaper and try to sound angry without waking the neighbors, but it doesn't deter them much.  They run away and come right back.  I decide to simply watch them.  There are two of them doing the fence work, and another one scrounging for seeds on the ground under the feeder.
They can literally scale the fence wall with their hands and feet. Their paws are astonishing.  It's no wonder they can open locks, and get inside places.  You can see their paws and fingers manipulating everything they touch.  The twosome work pretty well together trying to turn the feeder, open it, get it upside down.  There has been only one time that they've managed to get the feeder off it's hook,
emptied, and left on the ground.  I did not see this, just found it the next morning.  The most interesting observation I would make is this: they try to work quietly. While constantly trying to reach out and grab the feeder, it would squeak the odd time, and for that split second their heads would turn towards the door.  They knew that making noise meant trouble for them.
Lately, I've become short of seeds, so to protect what I've got, I've taken to removing the feeder at night.
We are not early risers and this morning the birds are famished.  As soon as they see the feeder going up on its hook again, they are there.  And right now as I sit here in my upstairs window lookout, they are fighting for the best positions.  It's snowing hard off and on, with mounds of snow on the tree branches and fence posts, but they seem very adaptable, and able to perch on the snowdrifts without any problem.
I have had pale yellow birthday carnations with me for 2 weeks. Mostly outside, where I'm convinced cut flowers could last a month normally.  But now, they are frozen solid sitting under the patio table.
I'm paging my bird book - determined to find the new interloper - the bossy red-breasted intruder that is causing all the fuss.
The snow stops and starts, stops and starts.  It seems quiet in the neighborhood - for a Monday.