Darn Squirrels!

Last winter the squirrels ravaged the three bird feeders outside my kitchen window. They came down from the roof, up the wire from the ground, and once I even saw them climbing the brick wall. All to get to the bird seed and suet. At first their acrobatics were funny. Then it got old. The birds didn’t tolerate them very well and so if the squirrels were there, the birds weren’t.

We added another feeder this year for oilers, and decided to try feeding the squirrels a cracked corn mix hoping they would stay away from the birds. The old cement bird bath made a perfect tray and was heavy enough that they couldn’t knock it over. The good news is, they are leaving the window feeders alone. And they appreciated the new feed. But not nearly as much as the new feeder. It didn’t take them long at all to figure out how to shimmy up the pole and crawl inside.

This morning I caught them in action. One inside and one perched on top. His patience wore thin and eventually rocked the feeder enough that he fell off. The other one emerged and chased him all the way across the back yard. I couldn’t have planned it better myself. Better than watching tv, for sure.