Clever Squirrel


Today I was making a sandwich for my lunch, when I noticed out of the window that something was going on at the bird feeder on the far wall. Moving to another window, to look closer, I found it was this squirrel, tucking into the bird's seed.

We have had him in the garden before many times. Usually he trots along the top of the vine frame you can see below and hangs upside down from his toes like a bat, arms hugging the feeder you can see in the foreground, with his head rammed into the seed hole. But as you can see, it's empty today: the birds have tipped all the seed out onto the ground (very annoying), so I'm refusing to refill until they peck it up.



Squirrel came at breakfast time, realised the feeder was empty and left. I didn't think for a minute he'd be able to get to the one hanging in the middle of a sheer wall. He obviously went away to think about it...

He stayed for at least 20 minutes in that position. I had to go and get on with my work, so I didn't see when he left. Notice by the way, the pigeon who arrived to hoover up the bits he dropped.

He didn't come in commando style on the washing line, as it's a lot further in front than it looks, and the ivy to the right is very flimsy, so he must have walked up (or down) the wall like spiderman. He deserved his lunch I think - I wonder if squirrels get stiff legs the day after?

4 comments:

granny grimble said...

I've seen TV programmes about squirrels and their quest for food. They really are very ingenious and acrobatic. Did he come dowm while you had Maddy staying, if so he was also brave!
Do they steal your grapes of the vine?

Lynne the Pencil said...

It interesting - squirrels don't seem that bothered by cats.

No, the birds steal the grapes, but I've never caught the squirrel at it.

weechuff said...

Hahaha! I love squirrels. We have three that frequent our garden, very often two at a time. As you say, they are very acrobatic, and get into the most complicated positions to enable them to get at the peanuts. They feed quite happily with the birds though. One day I had a squirrel, a Jay and a mouse all feeding from the same patch on the ground! The sqirrels soon hot foot it when they see my dog Pickles though.

Lynne the Pencil said...

Ah, so they know when they've met their match!