Battle #1: Birds and Squirrels by Day A Look Back
“There he goes!” From his studio window, Cliff observed a squirrel stealing birdseed from our new feeder. Again.
I rushed outside into the lanai, and saw the squirrel scarfing down the contraband, the feeder swinging back and forth from its weight. A squirrel had invaded a bird feeder intended for the avian life in our preserve.
Apparently, the rodent climbed up the pole and jumped up to the roof and started chomping on the food. “That little rascal!” I complained. By now, ole squirrel had scampered up the oak tree nearby. I noticed some seeds left on the ground, which he would probably come back to nibble on later.
Watch how the birds flock to the feeder for a meal or a snack. Oh, happy day!
However, an enemy had invaded, so Cliff, ever the problem-solver, was rigging up a solution to thwart more squirrel theft, stringing up Slinky toys to prevent them from scaling the pole.
So, a Slinky toy in hand, my husband went to work, attempting to foil the scoundrel. Gathering tools, he sat in the lanai, figuring out a way to secure the Slinkies to the birdhouse pole.
He means business!
After a short reprieve, we were foiled again! The squirrel climbed up the Slinky “trap” and hopped off to the birdhouse rooftop, slick as a trapeze artist, and went at it, even though Cliff had subsequently attached a second (and a third) Slinky to the pole!
Eventually, a squirrel “baffle” worked. The baffle, a shiny, cone-shaped plastic affair, mounted on the pool, deterred the squirrels. . . . at long last.
(Adapted from the post “The Tale of the Squirrel and the Bird-feeder.“)
Battle #2: Birdseed and Deer at Night An Update
It’s fairly easy to spot squirrels cheating at the bird-feeder. Why? It happens in broad daylight.
However, a few months ago, we discovered the birdseed supply was disappearing faster than we thought possible. Hungry birds alone don’t explain why the birdseed was disappearing inches at a time. Sometimes overnight.
The administrator of the security camera footage, my husband, discovered other backyard bandits: deer!
Film on the security camera revealed a buck approaching the bird feeder and using its horns to tease birdseed from the feeder.
The Solution?
With a kitchen sieve from the Dollar Store, Cliff fashioned a bird-feeder impervious to deer. So far . . . at least!
Habitat Loss
When our neighborhood was built more than 25 years ago, the development caused loss of habitat for wildlife. Squirrels, raccoons, and deer lost their natural ecosystem, forcing them into smaller, disconnected spaces. In fact, urban sprawl threatens biodiversity in the plant and animal kingdom everywhere on our planet.
According to the (MAHB) Millennium Alliance for Humanity and the Biosphere, there are human causes for this habitat loss.
Obviously, we can’t push back the hands of time and restore our community to its pristine condition. Still, we appreciate that the builders preserved mature trees and gave consideration to wetlands and wooded areas around the homes during the construction.
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Daytime View with the Motion Detector
Your Turn
Have you had a battle with man or nature in your environment? Wild-life, plant life, developers and new construction? How have you coped?
Can you identify the bird at the bird-feeder in the last video with the sieve?
Interesting! Too bad about the squirrels. But I felt very angry about our cat who brought a small bird, (very small) to our deck to show her pride yesterday. (I guess.) I was NOT happy about that either! The cat ate most of it and I tossed the rest to the ground (I didn’t hang around to see whether anything else happened. Nature! Thanks for sharing your issues! Of course, I scolded the cat ….
I can relate, Melodie. In our former house a close neighbor had cats. When I saw feathers on our patio, I could piece together what happened. (We don’t have cats: I’m allergic to cat dander,) Of course, you scolded the cat!
Are you talking about the one where Cliff says, “Hey, my new bird feeder is working?” I couldn’t identify the bird. I have not seen one like it before.
My brother put a hummingbird feeder out. But in the morning, he would discover the feeder on the ground with the feeder empty. He thought that raccoons probably got to because the pole was bent. (He didn’t think a squirrel had the weight to do that.) After fixing the pole, he had to take it in the house every night to prevent the raccoons (or whoever) from getting to it.
I think your brother was probably right about a raccoon getting the hummingbird nectar. It’s sweet. . . and so appealing.
On another note, I have to cover my begonias on the patio with cheesecloth; otherwise, deer would chomp on the blossoms. It comes down to this: Us vs. nature, Thanks, L. Marie! 😀
Animals are so clever, aren’t they? I’d probably just let the squirrels and deer have the seed. We used to have a bird feeder on our kitchen window, but the scattered seed started to attract mice who got into our house, so we got rid of it.
I do feel sad for the animals we’ve displaced. I haven’t seen deer in our yard in a long time, but I certainly see them around. Our older child has seen bears in their yard.