Category: Nature

No, I am not talking of Joey Chestnut even though I understand he again won the hot dog eating contest today (July 4, 2025) 😊. I am referring to the kings of eating, squirrels! This year I got a new bird feeder to replace the older one in our backyard. On day one I filled the bird feeder fully with seeds. Immediately, the squirrels and their smaller siblings, the chipmunks, started making merry and helping themselves to the seeds by jumping straight from the rocky ledge on to the bird feeder. 😀Within a day or two all the seeds were gone, nary a bird in sight. 😢To make it tougher for the squirrels I decided to move the bird feeder pole about couple of feet away from the ledge. To make it more difficult I also turned the hook for the bird feeder, pointing it towards the house and away from the ledge. Pretty soon, to my delight, the bird feeder attracted cardinals, finches and sparrows. 👏 For squirrels and chipmunks, access to the bird feeder required climbing up the pole and landing on the bird feeder. Couple of times I saw chipmunks climbing up the pole halfway to the top and then climbing back down as they were unsure of their ability to land safely on the bird feeder. Wow! I think the feeder is serving its purpose better, the birds are getting their fair share! 👍Alas, my celebration was premature. 😭 After some initial hesitation the bigger squirrels managed to gather enough confidence to climb all the way up the bird feeder pole, land confidently on the feeder and have a go at the seeds with gusto. As if to show off their acrobatic skills they started hanging upside down from the feeder base, like bats. 😂Those critters are a smart lot too! They realized that swinging the bird feeder releases the seeds from inside and spraying the seeds down on the lawn for a more leisurely meal later. Having mastered the art they finished off the seeds within a day or two. I was tempted to make it more difficult for the squirrels but then there are times when one has to applaud the winner and accept defeat gracefully. 🙏The squirrels had accepted my challenge and showed me what they are capable of to earn their reward! 👍So, I decided against moving the bird feeder again. Also thought the end result is probably a fair representation of the times we live in: The greedy grab all they can, leaving the needy staring in disbelief 😢🙏