Mystery Solved

How do the squirrels manage to eat the bird seed from our squirrel-proof bird feeder?

Last year we just had the feeders on top of a long pole. The squirrels, and even the raccoons, could easily climb up and eat to their hearts content. This year we bought the poles and brackets and baffle, everything we would need, at Wild Birds Unlimited. We bought the larger baffle, so that even the raccoons would be baffled. We have plenty of the decorative branch perches so that birds can perch while waiting for a spot to eat at. And we carefully placed the pole in an area that was far from the deck the clothesline pole, the crab apple trees and the barn roof.

And yet, they still manage to get to the food.

Finally we were able to see how they did it. One possibility was that they might climb up the string that is used to raise and lower the feeders. The only other possibility was that, as precarious as it seemed, they might jump from the crab apple tree, from the flimsiest of branches, up to the feeders.

Well, it is the flying squirrel routine that they use. They jump from a branch that is only an inch in diameter and bends down when they venture out all the way to get close enough to the feeders. Then a wild, free-for-all jump usually lands the lucky critter on the conveniently placed perches. After that , it is a nice smorgasbord for our hungry gray friend.

If they are smart enough and daring enough to get to the food, even with all our attempts to keep them away, then we figure they deserve the reward. We enjoy watching them as much as we do the chickadees, blue jays, nuthatches and woodpeckers.

Bon Appetit, Rocket J. Squirrel.