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| Inside information - squirrels bought out the Slinky business and began running Facebook posts on how effective Slinkies are against squirrels. Win/win. The truth. |
Spring has arrived early in Springdale, with shirtsleeve weather outside and gentle rains falling. We had no real leaf drop until late, and then Christmas was upon us. My biggest find was in Fayetteville, when I filled our Town Car with leaf bags.
I was happy about our bird-feeding array, and tragically, so were the squirrels. One stood on the platform feeder to reach the hanging sunflower seed feeder. Another leaned over from the brick wall to reach the second hanging feeder.
Cancel your Slinky order - squirrels can reach out and hold their bodies parallel to the ground, simply hanging onto a window screen or a brick wall with their hind feet. Once they capture the feeder with their front paws, eating is easy.
Filled with wrath, I went outside to move the platform feeder. I pulled the feeder's extension pipe out to begin taking apart the platform or a move away from the handing feeders.
The bottom pipe was supported by a cinder block, gravel in the holes, and a clay foundation. That part would not move, even though the soil was soft and moist from the rains, dug by earthworms and mixed by moles.
Saving work is like saving money - very enjoyable. I decided to leave the extension pipe out, refill the platform feeder with fresh corn, and let any creature feeding near the ground try to stretch up to the hanging devices. The newly shortened platform feeder was several squirrel lengths from reaching the hanging feeder.
I filled the hanging feeders with sunflower seeds and waited for the creatures to get over the shock of a minor change. Food overcame their caution and soon we had all kinds of birds - even Cardinals - feeding from the hanging sunflower seed feeders with no meddling by squirrels.
Naturally, the squirrels came back, but they no longer have a dominating effect on the food supply. They have to work to get at a few seeds, but the birds can light on the opposite side of the hanging feeders, get their food, and leave.
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| Group memory - have squirrels seen King Kong and passed along this trick to scare away birds? |
No more King Kong antics, batting away the birds.
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| Wednesday's forecast - rain, 60 degrees. |
