Friends in the yard

It's fun to walk around in my yard. Some of the creatures are too timid to be friendly, but I've definitely got a few pals out there. The entire flock of geese, about 75 or so at the moment, know me in the sense that they won't run from me. But only a few are actually pals. Remember the little one who followed me everywhere I went? I wrote about her last spring. She grew up, but never stopped that behavior. So I have a companion goose. It's fun. And of course, there's Milo, the finest goose who ever lived -- but I digress. This isn't a goose post. It's about squirrels.

There are five or six squirrels living on the property and I'm friendly with all of them. It's easy to make friends with a squirrel: just offer him a peanut. I do this all the time so the squirrels like and trust me. They'd never run away when they see me. But one thing they do intrigues me.

When I encounter one of them during a walk, he'll stop and stand on his hind legs, facing me. This position is maintained for about 30 seconds and then he continues on his way. This happens all the time. I swear they're telling me, "Thanks for the peanuts, big guy." I can see it in their stance: this is an expression of gratitude.

PS -- Squirrel facial expressions are complex and amazingly cute. I wish I could take a photo of my main squirrel friend but he's wary of cameras -- he's probably seen too many guns. We humans can be dangerous critters. Anyway, they're very cool. Anyone else made friends with a squirrel?

Never underestimate the allure of peanuts

I do believe the last squirrel is out of the attic. Hoorah! Since I mentioned my squirrel problem here the other day, I thought I'd report back.

Setting three bug bombs off in the attic was a waste of time (and somewhat evil, seen in retrospect). We thought we scared them out so we closed up all the holes. Dum-te-dum-tum. No go. The squirrels stayed up there throughout the whole thing. I find this shocking but that's what happened.

So then I had dog knows how many squirrels penned up in my attic, breathing horrible gas fumes. In other words, the situation was even worse. Luckily, a friend of my sister's lent me a squirrel trap. I put some peanuts, still in their shells, into the trap and left it on top of a duct (that looked fun to walk on, if you were a squirrel).

Worked like a charm. Within a matter of hours, I trapped four squirrels (one at a time) and let them loose outside. There were three babies and one adult and all seemed fine despite the bug bombs. Phew. I'm glad for that.

In all, it was so easy that I'm not worried about any future squirrel-tenants. I'll just lure them into the pain-free trap with the food of the gods: peanuts. Never underestimate the power of a peanut.

The squirrels may have found the bird feeder

(The original version of this post is accompanied by photos. To see them, visit the graphics version of this blog.)

Yup, there he is, sitting pretty in a bunch of food. This is one happy squirrel. This feeder hangs on one of my windows and even if I tap on the glass, he just goes on eating. This behavior is new. I saw it for the first time today.

I'm feeding a ton of birds now. The word has gotten out and the crowd grows by the day. There's always change out there. For instance, the baby geese are almost adults already. Their feathers are taking on typical geese patterning. It's sweet to see.

There are also two new, tiny babies. This is a fuzzy photo but you get the idea: little balls of fluff walking around. Plus I've got ducks now, six of them. I swear, the menagerie grows and grows.

What's most interesting is how each bird has its own perceptions and species-specific tools. For instance, some birds throw caution to the wind. They don't worry about their own safety. They just hop on a feeder and munch away.

Others are cagey. Some sit backwards in the feeder so they can keep an eye out and fly away in an emergency. They have to bend their necks back to eat. Others bring a friend so one can eat while the other perches backwards to watch for predators. One species (the common grackle) even stands on top of the feeder and puts its head close to the window to see if I'm there before he'll eat. It's fascinating to observe these differences in behavior.

By the way, geese are smart. They understand what I say in the same way the dog understands what I say. They get what I mean, and do so easily. I find this beyond amazing. I can literally call them to me and they come. And they won't come unless I call. If they start to come and I don't want them to, all I have to do is say "no" and put my hands up -- and they stop! They actually understand -- and it's not like I've been out there training them. Bizarre.

It's a lift to wake up and see them out there waiting for me each morning. That is so cool.