The War Against Grey Squirrels Over Black Oiled Seeds - Part II

Feeding the birds near the shores of Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota was relaxing, enjoyable, and expensive. At our peak, we had no less than 15 seed feeders and 3 nector feeders operating at the same time. When there were a good many birds to see we would try to count them. It wasn't easy as the birds refused to stay still. Our best estimate was over 100 birds at one time. Not all were seed or nector eaters. Some just came because there was a host of other birds at hand, I guess.

Spouse's favorite birds were the blue jays. Blue is Spouse's favorite color. My favorites were the cardinals and the orioles. The orioles were perhaps the shyest of all our feathered visitors. I don't count hummingbirds as they visited so infrequently as to not be there.

All would have been well, had it not been for the squirrels.

Mostly, it was grey squirrels, although there was a pair of reds and a few chipmunks. But these rodents would cross the treetop canopy and descend (literally) onto the feeders. Of course we tried to find ways to keep them off. We tried various methods. None of them worked. Probably the method which worked best was when I hung one from the overhang outside the dining room window. I believed I had won at least on my favorite feeder. At the time I had my computer right by this window and it was cool to turn my head and see the birds just ten feet away. Well, one day I hear this terrible crash. I look. Nothing. Ten minutes later I hear another noise. It was a squirrel, making a successful second attempt to drop down from the roof at an angle to catch the hanging feeder. Quite a feat, actually.

I once saw a program where some naturalists were testing squirrel intelligence by setting up a feeder in the middle of a yard without trees. It was in England, I believe. The scenario was that in order for the squirrels to reach the feeder at one end of the yard, they actually had to begin at the other end and navigate a series of obstacles and traps. It took several weeks, but eventually the squirrels figured it out. If there is a way, the squirrels will find it.

Well, we were still in favor of protecting the seeds from the squirrels. At first I would try to chase them off, but that was useless. Then, I decided to enlist the aid of my dogs. Lady Nicole in particular loved the idea. Royal Nicholas just wanted to eat the seeds himself, so I wouldn't let him go. But Lady loved to chase squirrels. The squirrels would watch me go to her kennel, stoop and ask her if she wanted to go chase squirrels. Then, as soon as the door opened and Lady shot out (Nikki chasing behind despite orders to stay put) the squirrels would jump up into their trees and depart. Lady loved it, despite having no real chance to ever catch one. Or so I thought.

One day one squirrel was particularly engrossed in his/her eating and neglected to pay attention when the kennel door opened. Lady was more than halfway there before the squirrel realized its peril. Due to the feeder's location the squirrel was obliged to jump to the ground before reaching the safety of a tree. This delay would cost it. By the time it reached the tree Lady was nearly upon it. It chose to try for another tree. Lady overran it, but knocked it off its feet. Had she been alone the squirrel would have made it. But Nikki was there now, and Nikki was a hunter. He wasn't fast, but he had powerful jaws and he knew about killing rodents. Had I not been there the squirrel would have had no chance. Even so, I arrived too late to prevent damage. I got Nikki off and the squirrel jumped to nearby tree, but only hung on the side. I could see one of its hind legs was damaged. Forlornly I tried to catch it, figuring to take it to a vet. Of course I failed. Had I even suspected the dogs could catch one I never would have let them chase. But there was fifty yards between the dog kennel and the feeder.

Lady's fun ended that day. Never again did I allow the dogs to chase the squirrels. Two days later I saw the injured squirrel had failed to make it across the road. I recognized it because its one leg had been put out of joint. At that point I officially ended the war. And, like all good governments, I provided a wealth of aide.

From that day on I worked out a compromise with the squirrels. I would put out six dishes of cracked corn for them. stationed on the ground at the base of some tall trees. Now, should Lady and/or Nikki decided to ignore orders and launch an attack, even a distracted squirrel would have plenty of time to reach safety.

The compromise worked. The squirrels much preferred the corn to the sunflower seeds, and the birds preferred the sunflower seeds to the corn. Now the only time I ever saw the squirrels on the bird feeders was when there was no corn. In fact, that was my sign to put out more corn. Feeding became more expensive, but no more squirrels died on my account. Ultimately, we would have no less than fifteen grey squirrels, two red squirrels and four chipmunks eating.

I still feel bad about that squirrel who died.