Just why do humans make such hard work of Life….
….Why can’t they just leave the nuts and seed out on a plate! …… and why just stand there laughing at ME!!!
Well I don’t know either but it rather fun watching
He He He
26th February
(C) David Oakes 2015

Very funny! I live in a very rural area and “squirrel watch” often. They are such smart little critters. I saw a show on PBS where they kept adding on to a puzzle they had to solve to get food. There were into the teens towards the end. One part they would jump on a roller skate and pull themselves through a clear tube. It was very interesting.
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Watched something similar a few years ago. A mini assault course that kept (so called) getting tougher….No problems. The Grey is not much loved in this country but no one can dispute their skills.
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It may have been the same show, or take. We have Greys and Reds in my area. The red squirrels get quite big. Sometimes I see a Grey riding a Red with a tiny cowboy hat on, but I can never seem to get a pic of it. 😉
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🙂 Now I know what kind of bird feeder to buy next. Those grey squirrels can be real nuisance … 😉 Lovely shots!
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These like just about all feeders are not Squirrel proof… They soon work out how to get in…..it just slows them down! (-:
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I shout loud “hau ab!!!!” to them, and it works immediately, they run away as fast as lightening. But of course, I can’t watch them all the time … If they would just eat a little bit … but no, they hoover everything clean, and rob anything eatable in the trees. Sigh.
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That’s them…eat till they burst
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Even though many people seems to ‘hate’ the greys, I think they are cute and very clever en funny. We have greys here, but sofar we seem to have a reasonable amount of reds as well. Don’t know why but it could be people practicing the blood ‘sport’ (hunting for fun) and killing greys off… Where I live I hear thos ‘just for fun hunters’ fire away when the season is open.
I love the beautiful finch. Does it have a crossed beak?
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Hi, Lydia. My grandmother and I used to sit on the porch and watch the birds feed. There were some grey squirrels that would jump from a tree branch and land on the cone meant to protect the feeder from them climbing up the pole. I had a stroke of genius (a rare thing). I went inside and grabbed a can of non-stick cooking spray and covered the cone with a thick coating. You should have seen the squirrels ricocheting of the thing. Grandmother and I enjoyed that almost more than the bird watching.
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Excellent idea!! 😀
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You’ll never get more entertainment out of a few dollars worth of non-stick cooking spray.
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😀 😀 It’s on my list!
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I haven’t seen a red squirrel for years in North Norfolk. I know about sanctuaries. In the Lake District we saw several signs to report sightings of the grey squirrel to the authorities as they leave no room for the red ones. In Norway and Germany we don’t have the grey ones; the red ones are very shy and not such a treat to the birds either. I find the grey ones only partly amusing, as their behavior in the garden is rather ratlike. 😉
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Many do refer to these as ‘Tree Rats’….yet they do have that cute appeal for others. But I have to admit that I would love an easy solution to securing the future for Reds.
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Hi Lydia….No denying they are cute…..but they also carry a pox that they are immune to that is deadly for the Reds. Nor can the Reds, being smaller and shy fight back where there is habitat and food issues. Reds are now only in a very few locations in the U.K. Little strongholds that conservationists try to keep Grey free.
The Gold Finch doesn’t have a crossed bill but he did have a seed in his beak.
Don’t get me started on Blood Sports, I am not against culling when a case is proven but not shooting to kill for the pure, so called, fun.
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Wow…who would have known that Grey Squirrels would have created the longest comments section on my blog for a long time and all within a couple of hours!
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Perfect! I busted out a laugh myself seeing your squirrel. They are funny with their antics on trying to raid feeders. Beautiful finch capture and composition!
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Thank you for another warm smile on another cold day. The high here today was 12 F (-11C). And it’s windy.
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WE surprisingly started the day at 10C and finished at 4C….I think we have now passed our minus C levels. Spring must be on the way (-:
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