Tag Archives: Squirrels

Saturday – 6.3.2017

3:21 AM – We’ve got a ravenous squirrel problem. Those rodents are in the platform feeder off and on, for about half the day. They pretty much eat everything that’s in there. It is not news, of course, that squirrels are a nuisance, but the amount of seed they’re consuming has drastically increased this summer, not to mention the amount of time they squat in the feeder, shutting out the other ravenous animals (birds). We’re not sure what to do about it, but we’re working on a few ideas. But not with optimism. Squirrels are tough. . Since about half the video we get is squirrel lately, I’ll share some here:

The juvenile bluebirds appear to be getting their adult coloring. Notice the orange patch on the flank of these two, and compare with the adult.

This short, not-too-good video is the first sight of an Eastern Towhee for several weeks. They were once all over the place, for a while anyway. We hope we see more of them.

Sunday – 5.28.2017

1:42 AM – Some days there’s just nothing exciting going on in the Foodcourt. We’ve got video of the usual Cardinals, doves, squirrels, woodpeckers, chickadees etc, and none of them are doing anything other than gorging themselves. And not in a cute or entertaining way. So, we’re going back over the last six months of video, looking for a few of the more interesting ones.

Here’s the fabulous swarm of Brown Headed Cowbirds from February. Since then we’ve seen exactly one Cowbird, by himself, on one occasion. But we’re hoping they’ll come through again in Fall.

I like this one – the squirrel get-away:

I always liked seeing the cardinals sharing food. This went on for a few month, but not lately.

And last, Goldfinches after a heavy rain. The Goldfinches come and go, like the Purples. Right now all we’ve got are House Finches, but we expect the more colorful ones to return eventually.

Saturday – 5.27.2017

1:07 AM – Traffic at the platform feeder yesterday. The face off between Mrs. Cardinal and the White Breasted Nuthatch was interesting.

The black cat, one of several backyard lurkers, is thwarted by D. The natural selection process will have to happen on another day. We hope.

Last,  some peaceful grazers on the platform feeder. Always glad to see the One-eared Squirrel is still alive and voraciously swilling bird seed.

Friday – 5.26.2017

12:10 AM – Bruno the neighbor dog came by twice today – this is the second time. We didn’t know about it until we reviewed the ‘tapes’. Bruno really, really wants to come in our house.

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Before we moved the mealworm feeder back in front of the camera, we found that most of the traffic at the Squirrel Buster feeder we recorded were Finches (and some Chickadees). Here’s a close up of a female House Finch cracking a seed and extracting the meat. They’re really adept with their beaks, these birds.

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Now that the camera is back on the mealworms we’re starting to see some of the old, regular customers there, like this Red-bellied Woodpecker, the Bluebird, a Cardinal and a Chickadee. We get a lot more variety with mealworms than with the Squirrel Buster and it’s Black Oil Mixture.

Wednesday – 5.24.2017

2:51 AM – We wanted a little variety in the birds we’re recording, so we changed out the feeders in front of the cameras. The mealworm feeder was replaced with the small Squirrel Buster, and the suet feeder replaced by the Finch thistle sock. One of the first videos we got was of this Punk Red-bellied Woodpecker on the SB (Squirrel Buster) in the rain.

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Here’s some activity at the Finch thistle sock. No finches, though, in spite of the name. We don’t have pure thistle in it, so it doesn’t seem to be appealing to them. Other birds like it though, including (in order) a Carolina Chickadee, a White Breasted Nuthatch, a wet Downy Woodpecker and, of course, a squirrel.

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We finally got footage of the male House Finch. He likes the Squirrel Buster feeder, though he also shows up once on the platform.

Monday – 5.22.2017

12:02 AM – A new record for the number of Carolina Chickadees that can fit on a mealworm feeder. These three are wet, too.

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We’re starting to see the recent influx of House Finches at the suet feeder. At least we see the female ones. It’s still a mystery why the males are not showing up on camera, though we can look out the window and see them at the birdbath. And we verified that these are female House Finches. Those stripes on their heads are unmistakable. In this video, we see one trying to cling to the feeder.

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Here’s that one-eared squirrel again (assuming it’s the same animal). The squirrels have been all over the platform feed this week. There’s an entertaining video of D racing out to scare them away, but I promised I wouldn’t post it. Too bad. It’s really funny.

Friday – 5.19.2017

4:57 AM – The Cardinals are still the most frequent visitors, in spite of the recent Blue Jay activity. They start eating early, and are usually the last ones we see on camera at the end of the day. Here’s some general Cardinal eating, drinking, bathing, making territorial displays etc.

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This one started as an illustration of the size difference between the Mockingbird and others – the point being that the Mockingbird is bigger than I thought. But the video doesn’t really do a good job of showing that. I’m posting it anyway because 1) it’s done and ready, and 2) it’s got cool ‘freeze frame’ technique. These videos are done with iMovie. I’m still learning the software. Next on my list is split screen shots.

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Nothing new about a squirrel hogging the feeder, but I liked these shots of a small one (presumably one of the crop born this year) helping himself.

Sunday – 5.7.2017

2:09 AM – What have the squirrels been up to? Let’s see – drinking, eating, avoiding a confrontation with another squirrel, then visiting the hummingbird feeder for desert.

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Sometimes our customers don’t get what they’re looking for. Here a Blue Jay arrives to early for food service, then a White Breasted Nuthatch can’t find what he’s looking for, and finally a surprise late-night visitor is disappointed.

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I guess Cardinals like mealworms too, though for some reason it’s only Mr. Cardinal that goes to the mealworm feeder.

Wednesday – 5.3.2017

2:13 AM – We got a new feeder for the hummingbirds, on that should give us a better view of the little birds. And other creatures. Here’s a video of one of the first hummingbird visitors, followed by one of an unwelcome guest.

We should have expected this:

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Recently we’ve seen the young bluebirds sharing the mealworm feeder, two and even three at a time – a first for any kind of birds. Here’s a are a couple of Carolina Wrens following the new trend:

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The Blue Jays now hang around the feeder all day, even more than the Cardinals. Here’s a typical moment – this one seems to be posing for the camera: