Kamikaze squirrel
Posted: Sun Feb 23, 2020 11:13 am
We seem to have a family of Red (Pine) Squirrels that has moved in nearby. 3 or 4 of them have been hanging around lately, but there is one that is definitely in charge, and he has claimed the maple tree that has the feeders in it. The sap must be running now, as 'Earl' has been alternating between feeding on the ground under the feeder, and scooting up the tree to lick sap where the woodpeckers have been at it.
There are two types of squirrel here...the Eastern Grey, and the little Pineys. The less common Reds are about 1/3-1/2 the size of the Greys, and maybe 1/4 the weight. They do not get along. This morning, I was standing at the back window, sipping on a coffee, and watching 'Earl' do his thing. At one point, he was up near the top of the tree after some sap, when a big Grey sheepishly approached the tree, and started to climb towards the feeder. Neither squirrel had spotted the other yet, and the Grey was feeling pretty confident...enough so, that it started chewing on the bird feeder.
For those who don't know, Red squirrels are pretty aggressive (I've seen them chase off the much larger Greys before). Add to that, this little Red is all jacked up on sugar. I thought to myself "this is gonna be good.". I no sooner had that thought, when 'Earl' spotted the Grey sharpening his teeth on the feeder 10 feet below. I was not expecting what came next...that little squirrel launched himself off the side of the trunk, dropped about 10 feet, landed square on the back of the Grey squirrel, and rode it the rest of the way to the ground. That Grey squirrel left the yard like his tail was on fire. I laughed so hard, I had tears running out of my eyes. Thanks for the laffs, Earl.
There are two types of squirrel here...the Eastern Grey, and the little Pineys. The less common Reds are about 1/3-1/2 the size of the Greys, and maybe 1/4 the weight. They do not get along. This morning, I was standing at the back window, sipping on a coffee, and watching 'Earl' do his thing. At one point, he was up near the top of the tree after some sap, when a big Grey sheepishly approached the tree, and started to climb towards the feeder. Neither squirrel had spotted the other yet, and the Grey was feeling pretty confident...enough so, that it started chewing on the bird feeder.
For those who don't know, Red squirrels are pretty aggressive (I've seen them chase off the much larger Greys before). Add to that, this little Red is all jacked up on sugar. I thought to myself "this is gonna be good.". I no sooner had that thought, when 'Earl' spotted the Grey sharpening his teeth on the feeder 10 feet below. I was not expecting what came next...that little squirrel launched himself off the side of the trunk, dropped about 10 feet, landed square on the back of the Grey squirrel, and rode it the rest of the way to the ground. That Grey squirrel left the yard like his tail was on fire. I laughed so hard, I had tears running out of my eyes. Thanks for the laffs, Earl.
A few years ago, I had some feed out for the deer about 100yds from the house. A couple of doe's were snacking on one pile and local 'coon came out of the woods and figured he'd get some to. One of the does spotted him and kicked him stupid, and he staggered back into the woods. 