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A Message From BWD

Dear Bird Watcher,

A European friend helped me to appreciate the close, though touchy, relationship we North Americans have with our backyard squirrels. As we sat in a park watching a gray squirrel sift through a nearby trash can, he said, "You do not see this in my country. You see little red squirrels, but only if you go into the woods." He enjoyed our urban squirrels, and so do many other international tourists, who go out of their way to take pictures of the abundant beasts.

Seven tree squirrel and two flying squirrel species inhabit the woodlands and feeders of North America, providing both challenges and delights for backyard watchers. Observing the seasonal behavior of squirrels can be a fascinating pastime. This month's BirdWire features information for enjoying (or discouraging) these backyard visitors.

For an expert's guide to backyard squirrels (whether you love them or hate them), check out our booklet Enjoying Squirrels More (Or Less!). Find out more about the world of squirrels and the ways you can attract, distract, or repel them. Only $4.99 in our online shop!

With best wishes for great birding,

Bill Thompson, III (Editor)


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Backyard Squirrel Wars

By Howard Youth

Battling backyard squirrels takes tenacity, patience, and ingenuity. If you get complacent, squirrels, like dust or dirty dishes, will be back in force. Included in this article are 11 strategies for thwarting the furry gluttons and keeping them from your bird feeders. One strategy might work for you, others may not work for you at all, and you might even want to employ several. But remember: Anticipate your enemy's actions, expect the unexpected and be ready to try a new tactic.

DISTRACT THEM. One strategy to lure squirrels away from your feeder is to provide more tantalizing food for them nearby. There are feeders with metal spikes that hold corncobs and other special feeders just for squirrels. And then there's the simple "dump and draw" method: Drop seed on the ground away from the feeder they are raiding. This will not keep squirrels from visiting your feeder, but if you provide a constant ground supply, it will keep many distracted. Keep in mind that squirrels have favorite foods, including corn, peanuts, and sunflower seeds, and that squirrels will more readily take the most easily accessible food.

CHALLENGE THEM. If a feeder is accessible to squirrels but not as easy to reach as, say, your neighbors' feeder, squirrels might not be a nuisance to you. I feed chickadees and titmice with a satellite-shaped feeder "protected" by a plastic baffle that hangs just above the feeder. Squirrels hop onto the baffle, hang by their hind legs, and reach in for the seed, but not often. Perhaps my neighbors yards, a short hop away, provide more tempting morsels, but that's not the only reason. The squirrels have hogged every other feeder I've put out. They seem too lazy to expend the energy to get at so few seeds.

Find more ways to discourage squirrels from your bird feeders! >>

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Build your own bird and squirrel feeder!

At last - a feeder to please birds, squirrels, and people!

I have had at least four or five feeders chewed up by fluffly-tailed rats (squirrels), and I think perhaps I may have the answer here. It is, yes, a metal stovepipe - let's see them eat through this! It includes metal perches and seed holes for songbirds and gravity feed into the meat loaf pan on the bottom for doves and squirrels, too. The lid is a tomato-sauce can.

This feeder is not, nor was it meant to be, squirrel-proof, but rather, squirrel-resistant. Here's how I made it: I bought a 6-inch x 3-foot stovepipe and cap. Using metal angle braces, machine screws, and nuts I attached an ordinary baking pan (about 10 x 13 inches) to the bottom end, leaving about a half an inch of space so that the seed could gravity feed into the pan. The pan has 3/8-inch holes in each corner so rainwater can drain.

For perches I used quarter-inch steel rods grouted with liquid weld around the holes, and the feeding holes in the feeder itself are a quarter of an inch.

The filling end lid is a 4-inch-diameter tin can like the kind whole tomatoes come in. It is notched at the bottom end and fits nicely over the stovepipe cap end, through which I inserted a half-inch hollow metal tube that is fitted with a coat hanger wire to hang it (be sure to hang it on a really sturdy branch).

I fill the feeder with a mixture of millet, sunflower seed, and cracked corn. The best thing about it is that it holds such a large quantity of feed that I can fill it once a week and now everyone (including the squirrels) is eating well.

Do you have a creative how-to project or interesting backyard tip? Email them to BWD today! Yours could be featured on our website or even in our magazine!

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	Answers to the squirrel brain teasers: 1) True - a single eastern gray squirrel may build and maintain as many as six nests. 2) The hefty fox squirrel is the largest of North American squirrels, reaching lengths of more than two feet. 3) True - flying squirrels feed on animal matter as well as vegetable matter.

BirdWire, the free electronic newsletter for bird watchers, is published by *Bird Watcher's Digest. P.O. Box 110 (149 Acme Street), Marietta, OH 45750. Phone:* 740-373-5285. http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/