We got a letter a few weeks ago from the Board about feeding the squirrels and apparently the two people who complained made their feelings known in several emails after that email. They claimed we were still feeding squirrels (we were not) and allowing the squirrels to build nests (they were a few small piles Kate had raked together but never bought a proper bag so the landscape company could haul away).
I let Kate do the talking because she does the research about feeding the birds and refills all the feeders. She makes her own suet with cayenne pepper which deters the squirrels. She does put peanuts in an open feeder for the bigger birds ~ blue jays, crows, flickers, etc. They often fly up into the nearest tree and drop the shells below. The Board asked that we NOT put out any peanuts in shells. Kate told them that without the shells, they get moldy very quickly in our Oregon rain, but agreed to do that until Spring.
We even bought a screen hull collector for under the sunflower seed feeder to keep the ground looking good. Twice we have caught squirrels in there and we could NOT figure out how they could get in! Today I witnessed one jump onto the screen of our window then jump on the hull collector. So now that it is winter, we can take the screens off. The little buggers are very determined (the grey ones are not native to Oregon).
(kinda like this but way tinier pieces of wood ... just strong enough for a chickadee)
Once the Board Chair went through each and every complaint and wrote down Kate's response, she apologized for even having to come over. Most everyone compliments the native bird buffet. She even brought one of the paper landscape bags which Kate filled up right after they left (thus removing those nasty nests) and it was picked up by landscape company today.
I saw these photos on Facebook the other day.
Whenever I see cute squirrel photos, I keep them. Everyone used to send me cat photos and jokes when I lived in Maui with over 400,000 feral cats. Now I guess it will be squirrels!
I was thinking of opening a little boutique outside under the pine trees ...
Maybe I'll wait til next winter ...
I don't get why people get upset about squirrels---unless they are the tiny red squirrels that get in your house. Where I used to live we fed squirrels corn in the winter and could count as many as 14 at a time eating or waiting to eat. Here, we hardly ever see squirrels except for an occasional black one which is a rare color around here, so I love it when I see one.
ReplyDeleteThat link with the squirrel photos has some adorable shots!
It's an irrational fear, I guess. They are pretty cute to me ... now that almost all the feeders are squirrel proof. I would LOVE to see a black one!
DeleteI liked the squirrel photographer shots!
How cute with those squirrel photos! Once place we used to live, the next door neighbor would feed the birds. Squirrels would also come visiting. He would trap them, take them to another place, but they always found a way back (or new squirrels came by). I hear they can get into people's attics if they have them. Now that we are in the "big" city with no wildlife around I haven't seen a squirrel but once in the 3-1/2 years we've lived here in Phoenix. I think bird feeders are great things to have. Always fun to see who comes to visit them!
ReplyDeletebetty
The Audubon Society says they do make their way back. And if not, outsiders come in and the political battle among squirrels starts. Kate can recognize most of the squirrels by personality.
DeleteHOA and uptight complaining Neighbors are why we're moving and selling our Home to regain Freedom from that Drama and a Headache! Remember when Neighbors were just Neighborly and didn't cause trouble for their Communities? Sounds like you handled it well and with good humor, attracting the Birds is something I'm looking forward to doing at the new Home we're trying to buy, it's on 2.5 Acres of Natural Desert and the present Owners are avid Bird Watchers so we want to continue their practice of putting Bird Feed out. No telling what else it will attract, but Wildlife watching is fascinating and fun... they're all God's Creatures, even the Squirrels... poor vilified little buggers! *Winks*
ReplyDeleteMy experience in TWO different HOAs has us looking also. DRAMA galore from that tiny bit of power. BUT this condo is in the heart of our little city, between the lake and a river. Lots of wildlife. The family walks everywhere. Now Mr. 9 is allowed to walk 6 blocks to Rite Aid (crossing the very busiest street!!!). We have the pool and the hot tub which we use almost every day. The two Clubhouse rooms.
DeleteI just have to keep myself in the background of what is going on and not get worked up over spending $15,000 to have our deteriorated walkway trellises replaced and made wider ... only they were made more narrow so people can't move furniture through them (not even an umbrella). And it took 18 months instead of two ....