Robot Claw

Several months ago we hung a suet feeder in our backyard to give the birds a little something to snack on during the final weeks of winter.

It didn’t take long before the birds noticed, and started snacking:

This didn’t bother us in the slighest because
a) We both love squirrels, and
b) You have to respect such drive and industriousness

But even though we were used to the wily ways of these furry little garden kings, imagine our surprise when one day we found the following scene:

If you’re having trouble deciphering that image, it shows the suet feeder right up at the branch level. Something had apparently reeled it in using the chain until it wasn’t hanging, but simply available right at the branch. In other words something was apparently tired of going to the suet, and instead chose to bring the suet to himself.

I like to think this is the culprit:

That photo was taken three days ago. It shows a big fat squirrel reclining in the sun, flying squirrel style, on the edge of our patio. I observed this while chatting on the phone with SFL, and was so amused/intrigued I had to snap a shot. It was such unusual squirrel behaviour I was a little concerned and tossed out a snack for him, which he immediately ran over to and ate. So he was just resting.

Sadly, yesterday we found the same squirrel dead in our yard.

He was in a similar position, just sitting on the grass. No sign of trauma, no sign of discomfort. He was a big guy, heavier than I ever thought a squirrel may be. And so soft. We both had a cry yesterday when we realized he was dead. Yeah, yeah ‘circle of life’ and all… but the fact he was in our backyard made him almost a pet.

So in tribute we went out and purchased two new squirrel feeders as a treat for the many other local squirrels. Here they both are:

Real corn and fake corn. One at the back of the yard, and one near the house. Both seem ‘squirrel proof’ in the sense that the squirrels should only be able to take the food, and not the entire device. But we shall see. Hopefully they will come soon and start eating, and hopefully we can once again have a squirrel we can think of as our very own 🙂