Birdfeeders

For any of us who enjoy feeding birds, squirrels are a constant challenge. We should know something about them since they are often “visitors” in our yards. Worldwide there are over 365 species of squirrels, but I think the gray and fox squirrels are the most common in the U.S. Generally, an adult squirrel lives alone, although there are 2 that normally visit our yard together. During very cold weather, they will huddle together in a nest to keep warm. In the winter months you will usually see squirrels being quite active during the morning hours, then spend much of the day in their nests. Since mating season begins in the late winter, acrobatic chase scenes are common at this time. The typical litter size is 3-4 and squirrels can eat their weight in seed in a week so squirrel proof bird feeders suddenly seem like a great investment! Their exceptional jumping ability makes it quite challenging to keep squirrel proof bird feeders out of their reach. Squirrels can jump about 6 feet vertically and 8 feet on the horizontal, so it is important to carefully plan the best place for a squirrel proof bird feeder. A little bribery has been pretty successful at our home. In an area apart from the bird feeders, I scatter peanuts, dried corn and other leftover nuts. This keeps them busy for a while, but nothing beats a good squirrel proof bird feeder for keeping them out!