Despite the rainfalls, our front room windows are still providing me with ample viewing opportunities of the birds as they go about their daily task of seeking and finding food for themselves and, maybe shortly, for their young families. Judging by the decrease in feeding traffic, some of the birds must already be sitting on their nests in anticipation of new arrivals, let’s hope so.
Some of the feeding visitors who are never very welcome to my feeders, at any time, are the greedy squirrels who are using all their ingenuity, or at least a couple of them are, to invade my hanging feeders as can be seen by my latest picture! I had to be quick to get that one because he only stayed for a brief second before my yell and knocking on the window sent him plummeting earthwards!. One hopes that this would be enough of a deterrent, but they always seem to land OK and then start thinking of how to have another go at it. When next I can, I will be removing the trellis work next to our front door on which it climbs before leaping the good eight to ten foot (whatever it is in meters) gap in the air to grasp on to the feeders as best it can before I or my wife angrily intervene! So far, we have prevented its stay from being anymore than a fleeting second or two so we are still ahead of the game, but those little devils are still thinking about it!
As I write, the absent squirrel has been replaced by a much more acceptable guest, a Hairy Woodpecker,– oh,– and there is also a House Finch to add a bit of red to the scene, so all is not lost to our scheming four-legged friends! I hope that you too are able to cope with the squirrels in some way, or at least provide the birds with an alternative food fighting chance of getting something. Stay safe and well.
Cheers,
John Baldwin
