Have the pesky squirrels fingered this one out yet?

This feeder isn't really squirrel resistant and doesn't claim to be. We have ours on a pole with a baffle and that keeps the squirrels away for the most part. If squirrel resistance is your aim, then you probably want to look at the Brome Squirrel Buster Plus or one of the Droll Yankees Flipper or Whipper feeder (there are others out there, too). The Wingscapes feeder's niche is the timer--you set it for a dispense time when you will be around to watch and the birds learn to come at that every day.

Is the bottom platform removable? I want to have the seed scattered over a wide area on the ground.

The wire cage and the platform below the wire cage can be removed. The seeds would then free fall to the ground or on a platform you might fabricate in the quantity and at the times you program. I'm not sure how much further the seeds would spread using that set up. Wingscapes has a very good manual on their web site with detail drawings. I suggest that you review the manual because you would probably be able to determine if the feeder can be modified to meet your objective. I'm very pleased with the performance of the feeder as designed.

How long do the batteries last, weeks, months, years? Thank you.

I plan to buy one of this Bird feeder for my garden. I would be using rechargeable batteries. I plan to recharge them every 3 or 6 months or with in a year. We can also watch that seeds have not been dispensed lately. Batteries can be recharged / replaced not a big deal. But this product sure will save me from guilt when at times I reach home late after work to buy groceries on the way to home and unable to reach home in time to fill up my other bird feeder in time.