The past week has been an interesting one with my birds and squirrels – last weekend we put out a second feeder, a cylindrical one with six perches. I’ve noticed that some birds seem skittish in a large group, especially when the others start getting aggressive, so I thought maybe it would be more comfortable for them to have a quieter place to perch. by Tuesday, the squirrels were on a mission to conquer it, and they reminded me of musclemen at Venice Beach when they pulled themselves up by the bottom perches. Of course, the holes were not something they’d seen before, so I figured they’d just stick to the other feeder. I was quite mistaken. They attacked the feeder with all the intensity of political protesters, and I’ll admit, I underestimated their intelligence. They chewed the covers off the seed portals and nearly pulled one completely off, which I didn’t know until I poured seed in and it feel through to the ground.
I left it up with what little seed it would hold and much to my surprise, some of my birds started using it. This morning we were visited by both a male and female goldfinch, which was thrilling. They sat on the perches and stayed for a while and it was fun to see them. Louis, my male cardinal, actually landed on the old feeder, which he usually never does. Such an exciting morning at my feeder and I actually got a wooden one this afternoon with perches. If the squirrels can destroy that one, I will just give up.
Do you remember the “squirrel proof” feeder.that Papa put up. The squirrels landed upside own, chewed the gromets out and then tilted the feeder and poured the seed on the groind. I finally decided that God wanted the squirrels to find food too. They eat my bird suet and leave the seed for my birds. The squirrels are very smart here.
I don’t remember that! But they’re smarter than we give them credit for. I put seed on the ground for them but they only eat their favorite stuff and then attack the feeders. Love those sweet babies though. If they can ruin my wooden I’ll just let them have it
This one made me chuckle, Jen. It reminded me of my daughter-in-law putting up a feeder, hung in mid-air by a cord between two trees, the idea of keeping the squirrels away. Turned out that they were expert tightrope walkers and easily accessed the feeder, emptying it in no time at all.
Exactly. No such thing as squirrel-proof so I just give them what they want. They’re God’s creatures too and deserve a good meal.