Megan's Nature Nook
Nature Notes, Phenology, Photography, Fun Facts, Trips, Maybe Even a Bad Joke or Two... and More!
Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day! Seems like you mention the word "squirrel" and everybody has a story to tell. With squirrels, people seem to either love 'em or hate 'em. If you feed the birds this could go either way for you. Maybe you enjoy watching them scamper around and eat, or you're always plotting against them and trying to stay one step ahead of them to keep them out of the feeders. Either way, squirrels add a little excitement to our yards. I think squirrels are fun to watch and like to see them scampering around under the feeders, but once they're in and on my feeders, then I don't like them as much! When I was younger we used to have bird feeders up in the winter, but the deer and squirrels became too much of a nuisance and were breaking the feeders so we stopped putting them up. Last year since I was going to be around home more in the winter I asked if we could put them up again. I came home one weekend to find this nifty pully system my dad had made to keep the deer and squirrels away from the feeder! The feeder is strategically placed so the squirrels wouldn’t try jumping from the deck or any nearby trees. It is also tall enough that they cannot jump up, and the deer can’t reach it even when standing on their back legs. We did have a mishap of a squirrel being able to get far enough up the slippery PVC pipe to reach the rope and chewed right through it, resulting in the feeder falling and a squirrel feeding frenzy. Since then, the chimney pipe has been installed and that is big enough around and slippery enough that they cannot climb it. Our second feeding station is a shepherd’s hook which is just all too easy for the squirrels to scale and get to the delicious suet. Last year there were numerous times the squirrels would steal the whole suet cake and make off with it, even when I tried to wire it shut, they would just break the other end open! Crafty little buggers. This year I tried something new to keep them off. A childhood favorite, the Slinky has been working well so far! The Slinky hangs down and when the squirrel tries to climb it, it will just stretch down and the squirrel will be on the ground again. So far there have been no suet thieves this year! I was even prepared with using twist ties to keep the suet feeder shut. So far these “squirrel proof” feeders have been working in our yard, even with the five gray squirrels and red squirrel I see scampering around. Hopefully they will continue to work and the squirrels won’t be able to outsmart us once again! Although at times squirrels can be annoying and there just doesn't seem to be a way to stop them, you do have to give them credit. They are smart, creative, acrobatic, strong, little creatures with a whole lot of determination! Take a little time to appreciate them today (and every day). Maybe even toss them a little extra seed under the feeders as a special treat in honor of their special day. Happy Squirrel Appreciation Day! Baldy the Squirrel Update:For those of you that have been following my Blog, in November I wrote a post about Baldy, a little red squirrel that had hair loss. You can read A Squirrel with a Mohawk?! by clicking on the link. Here is a Baldy Update!
In the beginning of December, I thought that I had seen Baldy hanging out under the feeders again. The squirrel looked like it had grown some fur in, but it was still a bit sparse. And the tail was still quite scraggly. I kept trying to get a picture, but with the crunchy snow he would hear me and run off before I could get close enough for a picture. This week while I was watching the feeders during lunch, I saw a little red squirrel that looked just a little different than the others. I used the viewing scope near the window to get a closer look, and sure enough, it looked like Baldy! This squirrel had a not so fluffy tail, and when you looked close there was a nice dark patch of red fur that ran down his back (where the mohawk was), and the sides were a lighter color (where the white fuzz had originally been). Baldy has survived the few cold snaps we’ve gotten and is growing his fur back! It's not the best picture, because I had to Digiscope and take it with phone camera through the viewing scope, but you can still see the color differences! He is facing downward on the post, right under the tan squirrel guard. I'm just happy to see he's doing alright.
2 Comments
Darla
1/21/2018 03:18:14 pm
I also use the slinky trick, doing a pretty good job keeping the squirrels at bay.
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Megan Betcher
1/22/2018 02:19:57 pm
Thank you for reading and commenting, Darla! I am happy that those pesky squirrels seem to be staying out of the feeders because of the slinky trick. Hopefully they don't get smart and figure out a way around them!
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