One of the projects that was completed while Dave’s parents were visiting a couple of weeks ago was to build a new bird feeder holder thing (yes, that’s the technical term for it) to replace our old ghetto one (sorry, no “before” pictures, you’ll just have to trust me). Then for Father’s Day the boys and I got Dave the three feeders to hang from it.

Pretty isn’t it? Adam loves to look out the window and watch the animals and birds that visit the feeders (and munch on the spilled seeds on the ground). So far we’ve seen a variety of birds, rabbits, chipmunks, and squirrels. Despite the level of juice in the feeder we haven’t seen any hummingbirds yet. We’re thinking that there’s a leak causing the liquid to drain.

At first we loved all of the non-feathered critters that were frequenting our buffet. We’re still on friendly terms with the rabbits (or hop hops as Adam calls them) and chipmunks, however we have since declared war on the squirrels.

It’s really a shame because I am pretty sure the squirrels are Adams’ favorite. My dad has a squirrel named Rocky that he feeds peanuts to and Adam loves to throw the peanuts to Rocky. He’ll stand on the porch, make clicking noises with his tongue, tap the peanut against the railing and call to the squirrel, “Rocky, are you???” (he leaves out the “where” and it’s pretty adorable).

Anyway, back to our evil squirrels. We didn’t mind them climbing the pole and eating the bird food. However, the other day they started gnawing on the feeder itself – leaving little wood chips all over the ground.  This is unacceptable behavior for a guest – biting the house that feeds it.

We are now in the market for a new squirrel-proof bird feeder and are looking forward to a peaceful resolution to this conflict. I’ll keep you posted on our progress (I’m sure you’re all very concerned).

Edited to add: Stacy reminded me that after the last photo was taken the squirrel jumped down and landed on the poor nice chipmunk. This battle is not just about the humans and their damaged property. It is also about defending the weaker creatures that have suffered at the paws of these squirrels.