Had the Wingscapes BirdCam aimed at the heated birdbath one day last week. Not super busy, but here's what visited:
Grey Squirrel
Tufted Titmouse
Black-capped Chickadee
Tuftie coming in for a landing
Heated Birdbaths and Wingscapes BirdCams are available at many Wild Birds Unlimited stores.
Have a stress-free Wordless Wednesday!!
On February 2, Saratoga Squirrel comes out of his burrow in upstate New York to predict the weather for the rest of winter. According to legend, if Saratoga Squirrel sees his shadow, there will be six more weeks of winter weather. If he does not see his shadow, there will be an early spring.
Looks like we're in for six more weeks of winter!
Saratoga Squirrel is the only true weather forecasting squirrel. The others are just impostors. And how often is Squirrel's prediction correct? 100% of the time, of course!
My apologies to Punxsutawney Phil, previous weather-forecasting rodent extraordinaire.
Many folks in upstate New York and other areas are blessed with an abundance of trees on their property. Having trees near the house can provide shade to help keep our homes cooler during the summer. Trees add value to the home and they provide shelter and a place to raise young for various wildlife. But trees can also present a challenge when feeding the birds. While our favorite birds benefit from the trees, so do squirrels, who nest in them, feed from them, play on them, and jump from them. Jump, as in, jump onto our feeders.
Grey squirrels can jump 8-10 feet horizontally from trees (or wires, deck rails, rooftops, etc.) onto our feeders. And they can jump 4-5 feet straight up. One solution is to baffle your feeder pole and place the whole setup 8-10 feet from trees and other jumping-off points.
But this is not always possible if the yard or area where you want to place the feeder is small. That's the case on the west side of my house. Large pine trees grow within 8 feet of the house, with tree limbs spanning right up to the house and roof. It is a great setting in which to feed the birds, but any setup would need to be squirrel resistent.
When you can't deter squirrels by placing feeders out of their reach, you have two other solutions: (1) offer food squirrels don't care for, and/or (2) put the food in squirrel proof feeders. My "Woodland Setup" combines those two approaches.
First, I offer food they don't care for: Safflower. Safflower is what we consider a problem-solving seed. While many birds enjoy it (at my woodland setup, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, purple finches, and grosbeaks), squirrels (grey and red) don't care for it. This doesn't mean squirrels NEVER eat safflower. They will try it (especially young ones who are trying out everything new in their world) but they will not eat mass quantities of it and dominate your feeders. Unfortunately, Eastern Chipmunks will eat safflower (I haven't found much that chipmunks don't eat).
My woodland setup has safflower in a WBU Quick Clean Tube Feeder with Weather Guard. The safflower is not appealing to the red and grey squirrels, while the weather guard - while NOT a squirrel baffle - IS large enough to keep the chipmunks off the feeder during the summer (it's nice to get a chipmunk reprieve during the winter when they hibernate!)
Second, I offer a high quality seed blend in a squirrel-proof feeder. Specifically, I use WBU Choice Blend in an Eliminator feeder. WBU Choice Blend is full of high energy seed - black oil sunflower, sunflower chips, safflower, striped sunflower, and peanuts. The peanuts especially appeal to the chickadees, nuthatches, and titmice.
The Squirrel-Proof Eliminator birdfeeder is a weight activated feeder that closes under the weight of a squirrel or chipmunk. It is adjustable even to the point that you could close access to larger birds such as pigeons or grackles. I leave the perching ring off so only the smaller birds can feed from it.
Trying...trying...
...but he just couldn't hold on.
It doesn't hurt to dream!
My setup is topped off with a squirrel-proof Absolute feeder filled with safflower. The larger perch makes the feeder more attractive to medium-sized birds like grosbeaks. The feeder is adjustable so I put it on the most sensitive setting to keep chipmunks from eating from it.
This setup with a combination of squirrel-proof feeders and food squirrels don't crave has worked extremely well for me. I successfully feed a wide variety of birds with the squirrels enjoying what's under the feeders, all offered up amongst the trees around my house. Choose the right feeders and the right food and you CAN have it all!
2 Red Squirrels in an APS Baffle
Here's some great pix of a feisty Red Squirrel trying to work his way - unsuccessfully - into a WBU Squirrel-Proof Eliminator Birdfeeder.
"This lid looks easy. I should be able to get some good food!"
"No luck. Oh well, I'll check under the top then."
"Maybe I'll just chew the top off." (Gnawing sounds) "Darn, this top is metal!"
"Maybe I missed something under the lid."
"I'm getting mad! I should be able to chew this off!"
Growing increasingly frustrated, "I should be able to get down this tube."
"Drat! I'll try the other side!"
"Darn you, Zen Birdfeeder! This Eliminator Birdfeeder will be the downfall of all squirrel-dom!"
A feeder for the birds - not the squirrels! Buy the WBU Squirrel-Proof Eliminator Birdfeeder online.
One of our resident linebacker-size grey squirrels.
There are still many young birds in the yard. A young Northern Flicker has been regular for the last couple weeks. No sign of the adults; fledgling flickers leave the family group when they become independent. Until their first molt, fledgling flickers sport the black "mustache" of the adult male so I can't tell if this is a male or female young. Its a noisy thing, though, announcing its presence with a whiny, drawn out call described as "keeough keeough" (Stokes Guide to Bird Behavior).
A member of the woodpecker family, flickers feed primarily in a different manner: on the ground. They are foraging for and feasting on their favorite food, ants.
The flicker is a good-sized bird, coming in at 12-13" long (compared to Downy Woodpeckers at 6-7"and Hairy Woodpeckers at 8-9").
This disheveled bird is a young male Purple Finch. (Like all pictures on the blog, click on the image to enlarge it). Notice the incomplete cranberry-colored feathers and the bright yellow gape (corners of the mouth).
The Purple Finch population here has been very strong this summer after being down a few years. I think this youngster is from a second brood. At my feeders, they eat primarily safflower seed that we have in a window feeder and in a tube feeder and Absolute feeder on our APS® (Advanced Pole System) woodland set-up. The safflower is not preferred by squirrels so Purple Finches (as well as chickadees, nuthatches, and titmice) can feed without disturbance. 
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