I’ve told you about Bandito before but it’s time you met him, one of the most proficient bird seed thieves in the county.
Fox squirrels, also known as eastern fox squirrels, are not native to Utah. They were first reported near the Jordan River in Salt Lake City in 2011 and in the intervening years their numbers in northern Utah have increased dramatically. I began seeing them in my neighborhood and yard several years ago and I thoroughly enjoyed having them around and watching their antics.
Until this spring and summer when one of them, a presumed male that I call Bandito, started stealing bird seed from one of my feeders. By the bucketload.
I buy high quality bird seed at Wild Birds Unlimited by the 20 lb. bag and it isn’t cheap. This bag cost me $44 – normally it’s $52 but I belong to their Daily Saving’s Club so I get it a little cheaper. It’s a price I’m willing to pay for the birds but it isn’t my intention to feed every stray critter in the neighborhood.
Yes, this is a shameless plug for my friends at Wild Birds Unlimited – owners Kelli Frame in Salt Lake City and Dan and Barbara Gleason in Eugene, Oregon.
When Bandito is active at my feeder I have to fill it nearly twice as often, so recently I’ve begun making an attempt to reduce my losses. And perhaps get some entertainment value out of it as a bonus.
This is the feeder that Bandito considers to be his own personal larder. He climbs the pole, hangs from the feeder, eats his fill (which is a lot) and spills much of the rest of it to the ground. And he’s sly, man is he sly. He refuses to appear when I’m in the back yard and if he sees me watching him through my kitchen windows he immediately vamooses up one of my catalpa trees. Or climbs the back fence and disappears in one of the other trees or bushes.
Recently I’ve installed a Slinky on the pole in a probably futile attempt to prevent him from climbing it. I’ve seen videos of squirrels trying to climb Slinkys and it’s hilarious, so I’ll admit that part of my motivation is my own entertainment. Maybe the primary part because I suspect that in the long run I’ll lose this competition.
So far, results are inconclusive but encouraging. I haven’t yet been lucky enough to see Bandito attempt to climb the Slinky but I keep watching out my windows for it and since I’ve installed the Slinky I’ve never once seen him on the feeder. He’s always been on the ground below it, eating spilled seed.
So I believe he’s attempted to climb it when I wasn’t watching and given up trying. At least for now.
The only way I can photograph him, if I get very lucky, is through the (dirty) glass of my patio door. Shooting through the glass makes my photos soft to very soft but he’s so spooky it’s the best I can do.
This is him yesterday morning, eating seed spilled from my feeder.
Almost immediately he spotted me through the glass and…
he was off like a shot. This may be the softest photo I’ve ever posted to Feathered Photography but you get the idea. It took him about two seconds to…
race across the length of my back yard and climb the largest of my catalpa trees where he always disappears without a trace.
So, that’s where the competition stands at the moment between Bandito and the bird photographer. Squirrels are smart and incredibly persistent so some of them eventually figure out how to defeat the Slinky, one way or another. Believe it or not, some squirrels learn to use their nose to push the slinky in front of them as they’re climbing up the pole. Mission accomplished.
If Bandito turns out to be that smart, I’ll be OK with it. I’ll actually be proud of him and it’ll still be entertaining.
Ron
Notes:
- I don’t know that Bandito is a male. I just have that impression.
- Yes, my title pun was intended, for what it’s worth.
- If you’d like further proof of how persistent squirrels can be at getting past various booby traps to get at bird feeders, check out this video.
- Here’s some more fun, for the viewer and maybe even for the squirrel.
Some folks recommend sprinkling cayenne pepper (or similar spice) into the bird seed. They say that although the birds can’t taste it, the squirrels definitely can. It’s just a thought.
He looks very guilty.
Have a look at YouTube squirrel videos by Mark Rober. He is the guy who was famous for inventing those anti-porch pirate devices. He has some very interesting and funny videos on this subject.
Our fox squirrels are much bolder. They hang around watching us fill feeders. We do get a lot of amusement watching them hang from branches to get at the feeders though. I think we finally have outwitted them with slippery fishing line to hang the feeders../ we’ll see….
I hope it lasts, Catherine.
Fun post Ron and good Bandito photos. I watched one of those nature shows once where they rigged up all sorts of tests to see if the squirrel could get the good, and for the most part they were successful. Maybe more resourceful and persistent than smart, but whatever it sure works for them.
” Maybe more resourceful and persistent than smart”
Maybe, maybe not. Whatever the mix is, they usually get the job done.
The squirrels might be thieves, but they are not brazen ones. Alert at every step and mouthful.
We buy our birdseed in 40 kilo bags and it lasts a surprisingly short period of time. The pigeons have found us.
I’ve got a few pigeons too, EC. They don’t come every day but when they do they eat a lot of seed.
I have many squirrels who are constantly up to no good. I spend a lot of time chasing them away. I felt sorry for them this winter because we had so much snow that I was kind to them. They now believe they own the place.
Take Care,
Kaye
Kaye, mixed feelings. I think that’s what a lot of us have about squirrels in our yards.
All those creative booby traps reminds me of this one video featuring a squirrel and a catapult. The squirrel gets food and it’s a hoot for anyone watching.
I’ve seen some of those catapult videos. Some folks think they’re cruel but the squirrels seem to be unfazed and unharmed, if surprised.
Some squirrels actually go back! What was meant to be a “trap” turned into a parkour-playground for them. haha
I’m pretty sure I’ve seen that little guy running around the neighborhood
I wouldn’t be surprised, Ryan. If he starts eating my (our) tomatoes he’s in trouble.
I could write a book about my attempts to deter eastern gray squirrels. I even built a Rube Goldberg cage to keep them out of my corn patch. I‘ll never grow enough corn to pay for the cage, but it’s worth it in the satisfaction I get in keeping them varmints out. So far.
Lyle, knowing your creativity bent I’ll bet your Rube Goldberg contraption is something.
Great idea! How did you attach the slinky to the pole? I have a lot of bird feeders, WBU loves me. Like others, I enjoy the squirrels for their entertainment value, within reason. I’ve tried lots of things – baffles, cages, greasing the poles, etc. I put out some peanuts in the morning hoping the squirrels will leave the birdseed alone, but they head for the feeders as soon as the nuts are gone. If you put out too many nuts at a time they will take them away and bury them. Then you have peanut plants all over your garden. Good fun..
Mike, I just attached it with wire.
I imagine “within reason” is key.
I have a squirrel family and all its’ relatives from surrounding areas. I have a feeder with suction cups on a large window. Squirrels can’t climb glass!! They fly five or six feet and land on the feeder seed tray. Ugh. I walk in the room and see that furry rat laying in the seed tray munching away. A new feeder in another area seemed safe. After a week or so they now also fly through the air to land on it and eat all my bird food. Slinkys never worked for me. I have s many squirrels that it no long is entertainment!
I can see how they’d get old, Ellen. And very expensive.
We very much appreciate the unsolicited plug for our Wild Birds Unlimited stores. We do have several other options for keeping critters from getting your bird seed, as Kelly has probably shown you, but they may not be as entertaining as the slinky. That usually works for the larger rodents but chipmunks are small enough to go under the slinky and climb the pole. When we opened our store here in Eugene it was partially to sell high quality products but for me, it was a way to continue providing education about birds after retiring from teaching Ornithology at the University of Oregon It provided fun interactions with customers and birds.
Dan, yes I’ve been having a discussion with Kelly about various options. And I don’t have chipmunks in my yard or neighborhood. Around here they’re mostly in the mountains.
I think you may just need to reach a Detente with Bandito (and perhaps find a less “spilly” bird feeder). We share our oranges with several squillas, as a friend of mine calls them, and have shared apricots, strawberries, tomatoes, cukes, and other “fruits” of our labor in the past. Another friend of mine gave up and built a couple of little picnic tables for her squirrels and puts out some peanuts and walnuts-in-the-shell every day.
Or, if you really want some entertainment, you can be like Mark Rober, former NASA engineer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFZFjoX2cGg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTvS9lvRxZ8
P.S. I don’t know why that last link blew up into the picture like that — feel free to edit!
Marty, if/when he starts raiding my garden there’s going to be hell to pay.
I’m not sure why some links “blow up” like that and others don’t. I’ve watched several of his squirrel videos in the past.
Bandito is a sly one! The slinky barrier is new to me! Thx for including the video which is hilarious!! Have so far been successful keeping our grey squirrels away from the feeders. I use a pole to place the feeders 15’ high in the tree on an outer limb.
Kathleen, we do what we have to do. And what works. I’m surprised that your squirrels can’t get to your feeders, since they’re in a tree…
I’ve used a Slinky for years, the best $3 spent to keep those yard sharks from my feeder. Love when the birds land on it and do a little bounce. It doesn’t take much to entertain me!!
“It doesn’t take much to entertain me!”
It doesn’t for me either, Diana. I’ll have to watch for the bouncing birds.
I, too, am enjoying my squirrel wars. It’s entertaining watching the squirrel literally thinking about his next plan of attack. A noodle on a horizontal pole worked. I will have to find a slinky now. Your story is Inspirational.
“It’s entertaining watching the squirrel literally thinking about his next plan of attack”
That’s a big part of it, isn’t it Gail.
I have a troupe of squirrels in my yard at times and have spent a bunch attempting to foil them. I am mostly unsuccessful. I have grackles nesting in a spruce tree and at one end of the squirrel runway (cable) spread across the yard. The birds chase the squirrels frantically. I found a broken egg in the lawn and suspect a squirrel is responsible. Wildlife is very entertaining.
” Wildlife is very entertaining.”
Boy, that’s for sure. And sometimes expensive.
Love the entertainment idea. My father would knock on his deck rail three times and leave three peanuts in their shell. The squirrel entertainment he got was, one squirrel would hear the knocking sound and became used to hearing it, that squirrel would find the peanuts within 5 min everyday. So either friend or foe, they do have entertainment value for humans, I guess. Bravo Ron, enjoy this season with your new slinky toy.
“enjoy this season with your new slinky toy.”
I hope to, Deb. Maybe even Bandito will have some fun, who knows.
Years ago, I worked at a birding and nature shop in Old Town Albuquerque which had a whole section devoted to publications on how to keep squirrels out of your bird feeder…..the minute that tourists from the midwest spotted it, they’d
gather round, pointing and guffawing, sharing squirrel “war stories”, and swearing that NONE of the techniques succeeded for more than 5 minutes, tops ( but I don’t recall one which featured slinkies ) ! Great post this AM–
good luck !
Kris, I don’t have high hopes of being successful long-term with Bandito. But that entertainment value means a lot so I’m just gonna let things play out.
My mom was humored by Bandito. She thinks you need to give him a break. 🙂 (I think you two need to compare notes! Ha!) Keep in mind that she buys birdseed for the burds but peanuts for her squirrel friends. She puts the peanuts in a plastic cup that she jammed into a chain link fence. She pulls out her yard chair and watches the three squirrels run across the wires (cable, phone, power…who knows?) every morning. It’s their routine. Her nemesis is a blue jay who steals more than his fare share and elicits a stream of heavily-accented curse words and arms flailing from this little Japanese grandmother. She gets about a 9.35 for the entertainment factor. 😀
I think I’d like your mom, Lisa. A lot (the CJL as you call her… 🙂 ) I remember meeting her several times at parent teacher conferences but that was so very long ago. Please give her my very best.
What about a squirrel baffle on the pole?
Cindy, I’ve considered using a baffle (cone) but that wouldn’t be nearly as entertaining as a Slinky. Which shows you where my priorities are.
The critters ARE a challenge when it comes to keeping them out of grub meant for others! Hope it continues to work and, at some point, you get to watch him try to navigate the slinky………
Grackles are “trying” again here – main luck is that gold finches are picky/messy feeders so a few seeds get to where they can find them. Down side is some grosbeaks have showed up and I DO like to provide food for them……..sighhhhhh
Grosbeaks. Jealous, Judy. Very jealous.
Thx for the entertainment! Video was funny 🙂
Good.