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Sunday, September 06, 2009

Baffled

There is no fool-proof way to keep squirrels out of feeders (they are smarter than we are), but I've come close. The 4x4" post is over 12 feet from the nearest place from which a squirrel can jump. Then there is a simple piece of stove pipe. One winter a squirrel managed to reach the feeder, but the snow pack was 3 ft, so it just jumped over the 30" stove pipe.

But this guy is clearly baffled by it ...


He quickly headed up the apple tree - too far to jump to the feeder, but he did not need to, what with the apples. And he put on a considerable show of agility and acrobatism (a word?) ...

My certainty that Red-bellied Woodpeckers were nesting somewhere nearby was finally confirmed by the presence of this juvenile at the feeders. He's wary, like his parents, but returns regularly ...

And finally, second broods are coming by, including downies, cardinals, and grosbeaks. Although not evident from this angle, this is a young Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Other photos I took show its young age, but I liked the pose and color in this shot ...



Good birding!
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7 comments:

  1. Angie Moore3:34 PM

    Hello Chris. Thank you for joining my blog. You have some lovely images. The Loons are fabulous. I listened to a radio program about Loons a few weeks ago. Amazing birds and very beautiful.

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  2. Angie Moore3:38 PM

    PS. I keep meaning to buy a Squirrel feeder, but in the meantime I just put peanuts out on the fence for them (crushed in the breeding season of course) - They seem to be content not to destroy the feeders this way :-) !

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  3. A New England Life9:08 PM

    That IS good birding! It's always a good day when you can keep the squirrels off the feeders though they don't seem to be bothering with ours lately due to all the nuts available right now.

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  4. Chris5:18 PM

    Hi Chris,
    Fantastic post! I love the squirrel gymnast, I guess this is some kind of problems for the feeders, but I would really like to get some around my garden... Cool that the woodpecker did breed around!

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  5. Deejbrown9:02 PM

    Great photos! I think we need to rethink squirrels as higher beings than humans give them credit for. And the Grosbeak fledgling is a showstopper! What camera/lens are you using now?

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  6. Hilke Breder5:54 AM

    Our dogs keep a look-out for squirrels and when they see one on the feeder they race to catch it. Our coon-hound mix almost climbs up on the crabapple tree... The squirrels seem to have learned that it is not safe to visit the feeder.

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  7. Anonymous12:26 PM

    My favorite squirrel resistant method is to use a 4” PVC pipe as a sleeve around the feeder post. The pipe works the same way as your stove pipe except that I run it the whole length of the feeder post.

    ReplyDelete