Saturday, July 11, 2020

I knew this day was coming.

I didn’t really want to admit it, but these squirrels are insane and are capable of things I never consider. After nearly two months thwarting 228 squirrel attempts, we got one that solved the ridiculous 40″ plywood disk and ate from the hopper feeder.

I’ve already made some minor modifications, but we shall see if those tweaks are enough over the next few weeks.

Here it is, the major winner so far: Mr. Determined.

Enjoy!

For those keeping score with me, here are the latest overall analytics:

And here’s the story on the 40″ disk since its installation:

Friday, July 10, 2020

It’s been awhile, hasn’t it?

Well, I haven’t had much to share. I’m sure I will work on some videos of squirrels doing silly squirrel things and more crow antics, but what we are all really after are squirrels face planting as they try to get on the feeders. Am I right?

We reviewed analytics, studied video tactics and decided to change the baffle on the Dinner Bell Feeder. We got rid of the stacked disk/dome configuration and went with a straight pipe. Coupled with the feeder’s natural acrylic dome, we think this may be a winning combination in the long run.

Anytime we do something like that, there is a period of inactivity. Sure, there were some half-hearted attempts to get onto the Hopper Feeder over the last few weeks, but no real attempts at the other feeders… until yesterday!

So, here you have it. Ms. Persitent attacking the new baffle. Over and over and over and over….

Monday, June 29, 2020

My husband has this long term plan to create a treat dispenser so he can start training our squirrels. In order to design the dispenser, he needs to know what treats the average squirrel in our yard most prefers. In a completely unscientific survey, we put some choices out on the picnic table to see what would happen. Its quite entertaining…

Enjoy!

Sunday, June 28, 2020

I know I mentioned awhile back that the Crow Gang / Squirrel battles were a thing. It’s the reason I wanted to add a camera out by the Picnic Table Feeder. I have put together some of the highlights from the last week so you can see what I’m talking about.

They growl, they Caw, they posture. They call in reinforcements, and in the end, everyone gets to eat.

Enjoy!

Saturday, June 27, 2020

The squirrels seems to be off the feeders lately. Other than the occasionally persistent attack (12 tries in 10 minutes), they have been leaving them alone. That doesn’t mean things around the oak tree are quiet, though.

We were visited by the neighborhood Red Tailed Hawk. That was fun!

And then the squirrels just did a lot of hilarious squirrel things. I put together some of this week’s squirrelly highlights for you.

Enjoy!

Friday, June 26, 2020

Have I mentioned that I love my new laptop? I can manage and render video so much faster. Today, I have for you a montage of Ms. Persistent’s efforts to eat from the feeders. Over the last week or so, she has just picked a feeder and gone for it. Lots of failures, and a sometime success.

Enjoy!

Thursday, June 25, 2020

I put together a montage of squirrels eating from the picnic table for you today. They crack me up. They alternate being absolutely adorable and polite, to mean, vicious fighting machines that make messes everywhere.

This little picnic table is actually what started all of this. We put one corn cob on it every day. Sometimes it’s lasts all day, and other times it’s gone by 10:00 am.

Enjoy!

Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Lots of fun playing with the new cameras, and my new laptop arrived today so I can finally edit video in a reasonable amount of time!

I know I’ve mentioned that the gang of crows is a “thing.” Now that we have a camera out by the squirrel picnic table, I can share some of their antics. They are definitely large and in charge, and after you see this montage I think you will understand why the squirrels are just reluctant to deal with them.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, June 23, 2020

So, lots of good news. Finally got two new cameras installed in the yard. One is out by the squirrel picnic table:

..and the other is a “Rover” that I can move around in the tree:

My sprained ankle is healing well, so I can finally spend some time editing video, and my new laptop comes tomorrow! I can’t wait, let me tell you. I threw together a quick montage of some neat videos I got of the birds up in the tree to hold you over until I can get some squirrel videos going again.

Enjoy!

Saturday, June 13, 2020

I have no idea which squirrel started this trend, but the others need to counsel him. I have no idea why they think jumping onto the Dinner Bell feeder will make them more successful than just climbing down the cable, but they are doing it again. Perhaps it’s American Ninja Squirrel tryouts season? Insanity.

For those who are interested, the squirrels safely land on the Dinner Bell feeder 74% of the time when they just slide down the cable. Safe landings when flying over from the Thistle feeder are a measly 44%. Craziness. If you look at the Attack Paths over Time graph, you’ll see they may be phasing this method out and going back to the cable.