Squirrels, Birds, and Peppers... Oh My! (And Video)
Hi all,
First, here's a video...
Now... Thoughts...
- Right off the bat, I'm reminded as to why I don't like digital zoom. Please forgive my blurriness...
- Secondly, note the way the seed gets scattered... That may not be a terrible thing. The ground feeders have always been happy.
- As you watch the video, you'll see the squirrel scale the very recently "Tony Chachere's-doused 4 X 4"... That speaks to a question raised by faithful reader Harry "Gipper" Morris (and I paraphrase...) "Is it true that hot pepper 'turns off' squirrels, but not birds?" Hmmm... Well, my over-priced $.02 says that it might work if hot pepper doesn't get in the way of an "urgent squirrel mission". That is, if the creatures are truly hungry/cold, they'll probably whir through whatever gets in their way short of steel... But here on Cape Cod, our approach is different... Why not just set up a feeder for the squirrels? They eat cheap seed, are fun to watch, and sadly, offer "feed" for predators. We really don't have a problem with squirrels.
- Towards the end of the video, watch the way the birds fly upwards - stunning.
See you by the feeders,
CapeCodAlan
Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: Inside Birding
Cornell Ornithology Laboratory: All About Birding
Comments
Good morning CCA.
Thanks for the video. Looks like a Red-Winged Blackbird throwing all the seed around. I have White-Winged Doves that do the same. Others, including the Red-Wing don't, for some reason.
Action of the squirrels was not conclusive to me. I'm still researching the subject of "hot pepper". Will let you know if I find something interesting.
Cheers,
Harry "Gipper" Morris
Posted by: Harry "Gipper" Morris | July 3, 2010 8:56 AM