Non-avian guests: Our Red Squirrels
Late last fall, a little squirrel we named “Raggedy” discovered our feeders. He was an adorable little rascal, full of energy, quite tame, and with a noticeable chunk missing from his tail (hence the name). We fell in love with little Raggedy, and spent some time learning about the habits of squirrels for his sake. He was a little red squirrel, a somewhat aggressive species which drives away other squirrels. We could afford to feed one squirrel we decided. We made a little squirrel feeder and attached it to a tree near the feeders. We keep it stocked with dry corn. While it did not keep him entirely away from our feeders, it did lessen the amount he ate. A little before Christmas, another squirrel discovered our feeders. We watched them chase each other about the yard, jumping, climbing and almost seeming to fly with their endless game of tag. We pondered when either actually had time to eat. But finally, the strange squirrel emerged victorious and Raggedy faded out of our lives. We would occasionally see him at the edge of the yard, watching and waiting. Sometimes he would dart in for a bite, but was always chased away. Here is the victor, staking out the squirrel feeder.
Late winter, another squirrel appeared. There was some chasing. Some fighting. And then we had two squirrels eating peacefully at our feeders. Now we have four, mom and three babies who only recently began accompanying mom on her forays for food. We had a wind advisory out yesterday, and this little one appears to be clinging to the concrete for dear life.
They are going through decidedly more seed than Raggedy ever did, but who can turn out a mother with three children?
birding, backyard birding, squirrels, bird feeding, red squirrel
June 19th, 2007 at 9:28 am
[...] This also gives you an opportunity to describe the birds and other wildlife that passes through your yard. My four year old son likes to watch the bluebirds hunt at the back of the property. They perch on a branch of one of the saplings, dive into the grass in the field and return to the same branch to eat their prize. He can watch them for half an hour, uninterrupted. We also have red tailed hawks who soar over the farmland off to the southwest of us. We watch them circle, dive and soar above the landscape. Sometimes they seem to swoop for the pure joy of flight. They have come in close, observing our feeders. Luckily, red tailed hawks are not usually interested in songbirds. More than likely, they are looking for one of those pesky squirrels. [...]
July 4th, 2007 at 2:47 am
[...] long as the house sparrows and grackles did not actually begin driving other species away. Then the red squirrel found our feeder. But we like squirrels so we came up with a [...]