2026, animals, Food, gardening, Nature, pets

Bird Food Nemeses

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There are many down-sides to not having a dog.  No walking companion, no one to keep the kitchen floor “clean”, no big furry foot warmer on cold nights.

And then there are the squirrels.  They have absolutely figured out that there is no dog patrolling the territory any longer.  And they certainly don’t see me as a threat.  Yesterday I made a trip to get something from the car and the squirrel on the feeder and the squirrel sitting on the swing hardly even looked in my direction, much less fled in terror.

They’re also eating the hot seed cylinder that they’re not supposed to like.  I called Mr. Bird, the company in Texas who makes the cylinders to ask about the problem.  They said at this time of year, when squirrels are having their young, they are particularly ravenous and will deign to eat things that might not taste too good to them.  This phase will probably pass but in the meantime, they also make a hotter cylinder called “Disco Inferno” that I can try.  I looked it up and Gertens carries it.  Guess I’ll add that to the cart when we are there next week!

Hopefully there will be a dog to guard the sanctity of the yard some time this summer; until then we’ll just have to put up with the squirrels laughing at us!

Any critter activity at your place these days?

42 thoughts on “Bird Food Nemeses”

    1. Indeed! May theFourth be with you.

      BTW, Saturday son was here to visit and I told him and husband about writing to the Baboons about them bonding over Monty Python (and incidentally, Star Trek). Which got big smiles from them both. Son remembered immediately how he and his friends would recite dialogue.

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  2. There are always squirrels. The chipmunks are out and active. I’m not sure where they secure themselves during the winter. This spring we have had as many as four rabbits in our back yard at once, chasing each other. They can be destructive and we have to take measures but on the other hand they are fun to watch so we are not at war with them.

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    1. Just now, I was out watering my bales a little bit, and there was a bunny sitting under the big birdfeeder, munching away. So — sad to say not only are the squirrels not afraid of me, but neither are the bunnies. I guess this makes me a yard wimp, huh?

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        3. It’s not that I want them to come up and sit on my lap (necessarily), I just don’t want them to feel like they have to flee in panic because I’m taking out the garbage.

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  3. We have no dog, and cats looking through the window have no effect on the squirrels at our feeders. 2 years ago, I merely determined that I am now “feeding animals” out there. What I believe this neighborhood needs, both regarding the squirrels and the rabbits, is a resident coyote or 2.

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    1. I’m on the same page in terms of I’m basically feeding the animals, not just the birds. I do actually think of the big birdfeeder as the squirrel feeder and I put stuff in there that the squirrels would like that but are too big for the birds. But I do like the hot cylinders cause it makes me feel like there’s some sacred place just for the birds.

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      1. try adding a few shakes of bottled hot sauce from the grocery, put in in a salad bowl and stir it in or just add jabenjero or ghost pepper dry

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  4. I see an occasional rabbit, but at least it’s just in the raspberry patch and outside the garden. Lots of birds in the garden… and I hear the purple martins now, which I love.

    One time a few years ago I was out quite early (6:30, very out of character) in our alley driveway, and saw a possum. That was pretty cool, but have never seen him/her since.

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    1. I have been viewing Nature 365 daily for years since Jim Brandenburg started it. Multinational admirers of Jim are now doing this (mostly French but also Japanese contributions). It is a wonderful way to start the day. I recommend it to all. You can support them if you want, with Patreon.

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  6. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    Well, my day is starting with a jolt. Husband’s PCA is at the ER with a smashed, possibly broken thumb. HMMMM. The schedule for the day just changed!

    The wildlife here is abundant, as always. About 10 days ago we were picnicking with some friends near by when a Bald Eagle flew over us at a low altitude, peering at our supper. We have the usual squirrels and rabbits. Birds at the bird feeder are returning for the summer. Wrens just arrived yesterday. There are ducks nesting nearby. I see them flying overhead and I hear them quacking, but I have not yet found the nest. Husband reported Friday that a tiny grey mouse ran over his foot and underneath the cold frame in the backyard. Saturday while I was spading and weeding, I found two such mice in the grass.

    We have the lawnmower up and running, so summer chores have arrived.

    About 20 years ago, husband decided to go to war with the squirrels. This war followed the episode in which a squirrel got into our fireplace and chewed up the fan wires. That squirrel activated the fan which wrapped the tail around it which was the end of the squirrel. About two weeks later we had an odor, accompanied by an infestation of maggots and flies. Meanwhile, Cocoa the dog was losing her mind for a reason we could not determine until the flies hatched. It was a grizzly clean up.

    Husband purchased a live trap which he used successfully, then employed spray paint on their tails to color code his prey. Said squirrels were then relocated to a park. He spent the summer peering at them through binoculars to determine if those exact squirrels returned to the yard. They did not. However, other squirrel families moved in immediately and just as obnoxiously as the old squirrels. The entire scenario amused and entertained our friends for months.

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    2. I once had a coworker who lived out in a rural area and would “relocate” squirrels for colleagues. They’d bring in a live trap with a squirrel inside which would sit next to her desk until she took it home with her to release. I imagine it had to be kept secret from senior management.

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  7. I have abandoned the world of feeding animals. I am on the second floor with two moderate sized trees whose leaves are erupting slowly. They will keep out the sun they tell me. The sun is my enemy. The blinds in this apartment are not in the best shape. It is a 7 foot wide 5 foot tall window with a nice view of the employee parking lot facing directly west. Solar heating in later afternoon. A train yard is close, close enough for me to hear engine whistles and, if windows are open, rolling wheels. A comforting sound for me.
    I trimmed my mustache yesterday and could not see very well. Don’t know how it looks.
    Clyde of Willmar

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    2. I lived near a railroad track years ago at the stone house in Faribault, and got used to the sound of the trains. I live near a railroad track again and I find it oddly comforting.

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    3. hope new life is good to you. find a confidant to trim you. keep us informed
      the new sun block curtains they have out are incredible. pain and ugly but great at sun blocking

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  8. Moderate activity in the backyard. A few squirrels are always present, but haven’t seen a bunny in quite a while. Bird visits are down compared to recent years. Haven’t filled my bird feeder in months. I worry about environmental issues that could affect them like insecticides, pesticides, a drop off of insects to eat because of those factors, maybe more (unseen) predators(?).

    Most of the critter activity now comes from our cat, Iris, who brings us joy and love and laughs every day.

    Chris in Owatonna

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  10. I have plenty of wildlife in spite of 3 big dogs on one side and and one medium sized dog and 3 frequent grandchildren on the other.

    Alas, the blueberries got whacked yesterday, so sorry to see them go. We have a new weed/viney thing popping up so every day I try to pull that out on the return from the walk.

    So glad to hear there will be another dog with you, Sherillee. I’m glad to live in a dog neighborhood.

    Plenty of bunnies and squirrels around even so.

    I need to get the grape arbor trimmed back and then we’ll see if Mrs. C returns for a third year!

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  13. I’ve got the grape arbor cleared! Now I get to watch it leaf out and see if the cardinals come. Haven’t heard any yet.

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  15. In ND we had a mink that lived in a stream about 4 blocks from our house. We would find decapitated bunnies on the sidewalk sometimes, victims of the mink. We also had a weasel in our garage once. Squirrels, of course, in the back yared.

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  16. I started feeding birds last fall, but it didn’t last. My neighbor, Shirley, came over and told me she had mice. I could tell she was suspicious of my bird feeders. I didn’t have any mice, but I took the feeders down anyway. She told me the mice disappeared immediately after I removed the feeders.

    I share the concerns some people have about feeding birds. It can spread diseases, and it’s really important to keep the feeders clean. It also attracts riffraff like mice. I miss it though.

    I am going to feed hummingbirds. I don’t think the nectar attracts mice.

    I can see and hear lots of birds in the neighborhood. There are lots of red-winged blackbirds due to a nearby wetland. There are finches and chickadees and lots of robins. Curiously, there are a remarkable number of mourning doves here. I’ve never heard so many calling at once. They have some mating calls I’ve never heard before. I’ve seen a Cooper’s hawk, or a sharp-shinned hawk, a number of times. It took a goldfinch right in front of my patio door when I still had the feeder up last fall.

    There are squirrels here, and some rabbits. There are cornfields about two blocks away from here, and I heard coyotes yipping and howling late at night last winter. I could smell a skunk in the early mornings earlier this spring.

    Maggie is my wildlife experience these days, and she can get pretty wild!

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  17. Our puppy just ate a dead fledgling sparrow she found in the yard. We dosed her with peroxide to make her hurl it up. It worked like charm in minutes. Ishda!

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  18. We have bird feeders and a hummingbird feeder hanging from the second-floor deck. For several years after moving in, we had no problems but then the squirrels figured out how to get up to the deck and we’ve had no peace. The feeders spend a lot of time hidden in the deck box, but the squirrels gnaw on that too.

    Charlotte does her best and will go after them when she’s on the deck. One dumb squirrel recently didn’t just jump off the deck but decided to run around the table a couple of times, with Charlotte hot on his tail. I was terrified she would catch him.

    I know lots of people consider rabbits to be pests, but I have a soft spot for them (we had a pet rabbit years ago). I leave them apple slices in the winter when there’s nothing to eat.

    This spring we have our turkey flock back patrolling the neighborhood, a pair of nesting ducks, a bald eagle and occasional deer.

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  20. nala and debbie were surprised when they opened the back door and a neighborhood black cat was resting in the sun on the doorstep. the cat hightailed it quickly to the corner of the fenced yard and sat not knowing which way to turn. nala took off like a lightning bolt and flew around corners and up the side entrance of the retaining wall in pursuit. black cat assumed the position. fur puffed, ears back, one paws raised in anticipation. nala took a mean fall with a leg blowout as she lept up the hill to reach the hill top where her conquest awaited and she stared not knowing what to do next. she circled and gave the cat a path to escape and came back in the house with a proud expression and a noticeable limp. this coming monday marks 14 years ago we picked her and vinny up. shes doing great and so are we. daily walk is a highlight for both of us.

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