After I posted the bird feeding and bird gardening ideas, a few readers sent me emails. How do you keep hawks off the bird feeder? (I imagined a cartoon-like hawk salivating over the tiny birds eating at the feeder). How do you keep squirrels away?
I knew that squirrels were pests at feeders. For a while last year I had to take down the bird feeder and the hummingbird feeder because our little group of gray squirrels realized they could climb the trellis at the entrance to the garden, hang by their toes, and shake the feeders to get food. I had no idea what was happening to the hummingbird feeder until I actually saw the squirrel leap on it and put his little mouth to the port where the nectar releases for the hummers. He’d get some momentum going and swing the hummingbird feeder like a bell, and drink the nectar sloshing out! I’d found the local squirrel with a sweet tooth, all right. My dad used to shoot BB guns at the squirrels but I can’t do that; I just can’t hurt a living creature, and while I could shoot to scare it, I’d probably hit something else instead. So I just removed the feeder for a few weeks until the squirrels went elsewhere.
But today my feeder was plagued by crows….lots of them. They found the one crust of moldy bread I’d thrown under the feeder. I filled the feeders last night in anticipation of the storms heading towards us. The birds tend to eat more seed in the 24 hour period before bad weather. I really believe they can sense the barometric pressure and know instinctively they have to hide under bushes for a day until it passes, so they stock up on food. I stocked their food supply, but the canny crows were watching.
I sent Pierre out to chase them away but they returned quickly. I can see their beady black eyes from up in my office, so I watch and tap the window glass to frighten them away whenever I notice them.
If anyone’s got tips on how to keep crows off the bird feeder, share!
