The Enemy & A Friend

[PhilR]

We've got bird feeders dotted around the garden containing peanuts, fat balls, sunflower seeds and fat blocks. Each year we see more birds taking advantage of a free meal, there was a rare, for here, Great Spotted Woodpecker we saw occasionally and now we have three regulars, we know there's three as they've been in the garden at the same time.

 

We had a peanut feeder hung from a wall mounted bracket suspended in front of the patio doors so we could see birds close up, provided we sat still. Our garden has also proved attractive to grey squirrels and I've had to suspend one peanut feeder from a 3ft length of wire from a tree branch to try and stop the little devils getting at it.

 

Now their antics are very entertaining, especially the young ones who tear around the garden playing with each other and their ingenuity in getting to feeders is amazing.

 

Here are some photos of the squirrels raiding the peanut feeder by the house, taken from the living room looking out at it and from the bedroom window looking down on the feeder. Other photos are of a squirrel on the other peanut feeder and a woodpecker getting stuck into a fat block.

 

Some of the squirrels are now deceased courtesy of an HW95 I borrowed and others will be short lived now there's a BSA Lightning that's taken up permanent residence here.

 

 

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[RAMMER BURT]

the tree rat likes to show off

[mickyh]

Bear in mind that the woodpeckers will take more eggs and chicks for food than the Squirrels !

They opened a hole in one of my nest boxes and cleared out a clutch of Great Tit chicks !

But thats how they make thier living.

Mother Nature and all that - Oouch !!!

Edited August 7, 2013 by mickyh

[hawkfanz]

aye but there much scarcer than the tree rat.

[mickyh]

Not where I live ! We are lucky and get loads,and lessers but fewer of them.

And nothing gets on the feeders when they are in the garden-very aggressive,but stunning.

I love them.