Date: Mon, 26 Mar 2001 17:55:22 -0800 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "Daniel F. McDonald" Subject: Re: Warning! Intelligent squirrels on the loose! MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Kindly keep your squirrels in Mont Co. Our dumb squirrels still have not figured a way to get food from our feeder after 7-8 years and we'd like to keep it that way. We have one of those weight-balanced jobs (no baffle) that close off the food if a heavy critter gets on the perch. I have heard tales of smart-co-operative squirrels who balance one on the backside while the second feeds in the front. Ours are either too dumb, not team-players, or both. The only time they've successfully gotten food was in the big bad winter of 93-94 when the weight-balanced perch was ice-bound and locked in the open position. Generally, they settle for the spilled seed on the ground (along with the mourning and rock doves) and don't even bother climbing the pole anymore. Georgia McDonald Towson, Balt Co dangeo@erols.com . "Wilkerson, Jordan T." wrote: > MDOsprey, > > With the on-going war against these furry critters, I feel I need to warn > others about our recent observations of these mistakenly innocent-looking > ruffians. After years of successfully baffling, the new generation of > genetically-advanced squirrels has managed to figure a way past. The baffle > we have is the cylindrical kind that they have routinely climbed inside of > while I watched their tails waving curiously from the bottom. However, this > time I was foiled. They have attacked the feeders with an amazing set of > progressive approaches this year. First they tried climbing the pole and > grabbing the bottom of the baffle with their teeth. Once they could do this > reliably, they tried leaping from this awkward position, sometimes grabbing > the feeders with one claw and scramble on up. I stopped their ingenious > approach by lowering the baffle, but not low enough for them to jump from > the ground. Little did I know I was leading them into solving the problem > all-together. Now they get a running start and dash up the pole a little > way; then, showing their evolved intelligence and strength, leap up and out > from the pole and acquire their target with uncanny repeatability. In fact, > they practically overshoot the feeders, implying that no matter how far down > I place the baffle, they will still be able to reach the feeders. I even > watched one of their leaders training new recruits last week. > > Beware! It's only a matter of time before they get the word out on how to > beat our defenses. > > Jordan Wilkerson > Cloverly, MoCo, MD > > ======================================================================= > To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com > with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey > ======================================================================= ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================