Our kitchen sink, which is where I spend many happy hours each day doing the washing up, looks across the turning point at the end of our cul-de-sac to trees which the original developers of the estate planted some years ago. I've made use of them by hanging up a couple of peanut feeders so I can watch the birds, particularly the blue, great and coal tits, as I work.
But on Saturday I noticed a newcomer, a rather smart, dark-tailed red squirrel which looked very at home running along the pavement towards where the bird feeders were hanging.
It disappeared into the trees to emerge a few minutes later and....
....set off down the road - but, is it my imagination or does it have something in his mouth?
Twice it stopped and, I'm fairly sure, buried something in the gravel at the back of the pavement.
I think the squirrel may have found a way of accessing the birds' feeders and half-inching some of their nuts to bury for its use this winter.
So I've made a squirrel feeder, filled it full of peanuts, and fixed it near the the birds' peanut feeders. Since I did this we've seen the squirrel a couple more times but on each occasion it has run up and down the road doing... well, doing something, but the one thing it has done is to studiously ignore my DIY masterpiece.
If there are hazel trees in the hedge, he is probably burying hazel nuts. The local greys here in Devon do that so much that we have hazel saplings popping up everywhere, including in with our potted plants. I look forward to seeing a picture of your feeder being used in due course.
ReplyDeleteYou're quite right, Derryck - there are hazel trees in the hedge. Post to follow....
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