Wednesday, May 18, 2016
Welfare Bum Eradication Program
Seems the local welfare bums have been getting a bit aggressive lately . They were not content with the bird food on the patio floor but have now taken to crossing the power lines from the pole to the house and attempting to get in to the bird feeders hanging on the soffits of the foyer . So it was time to dig out the old homemade critter trap .
In no time flat Number One found out the free food is never really free .
A day later Number Two learned his lesson and also went for a ride a few miles away , over by the town dump , where he has to cross several roads to make it back this way .
Today I watched Number Three go in and come back out . But he was way too tempted and soon his fate was sealed .
Pretty good for some old chicken wire and an old Coleman stove lid I found by the side of the road .
We've also had this little critter visit on occasion . He is most definitely not a Gray Squirrel, and not a Chipmunk , but he don't look like any red squirrel I have ever seen . And I have never seen any reds around here in 13 years we have lived here .
Here is a profile shot of him . He best look out if he tries any funny business with me he'll be joining the other three trouble makers over by the town dump.
We've also had a pair of Gold Finches visit . Never had them here before .
A pair of Catbirds have been coming around as well .
And most interesting of all a Red Breasted Grosbeak .
He is definitely a new one to us .
Our bird book says he is a cousin to the Cardinal , and he may well be , but they don't really like each other as the Cardinal let him know whose bird feeder it was and chased him away .
Different looking guy for sure .
He's a sweetie
ReplyDeleteHe certainly is a different one than our usual bunch of troublemakers. I just hope he minds his manners John.
DeleteWe occasionally have those little squirrels around here. The old-timers call them "pine squirrels."
ReplyDeleteHe has been hanging out in a big old gnarly pine tree across the street, so you may be right on that one Gorges. I just have never seen one here ever. He is definitely not a local. Must be an immigrant from down south that snuck up here somehow.
DeletePor que los llevas lejos? Que tal un lindo guisito?
ReplyDeleteWell I gave them one chance Doug, if the come back they might end up in the stew pot.
DeleteBack in the 50's we visited relatives in Pennsylvania and had squirrel for supper, it was good but I think I prefer chicken. We used to only have reds here in Portland but now we have both grey and reds.
ReplyDeleteHey Doc, this guy is definitely not a red squirrel , he lacks the pointy ears, big tail and more delicate facial features. He has the big square face and white belly of a grey . But he is half as big and he moves fast like a Chipmunk . There are some isolated pockets of red squirrels here in Maine but none around here. I am suspecting he is some sort of mongrel or an import of some kind . I have never eaten squirrel but if those big grays make a return I just might have to try my hand at making Brunswick Pie. I hear tell it is quite good . It has been quite easy to catch these greys .
DeleteIt was decent of you to take them off and let them go. Even squirrels have to live. My daughter raised a baby squirrel after some workers cut down the tree her nest was in. "Conkers" is a smart little animal and utterly devoted to my daughter. When Elizabeth came down here to visit in April, she had a friend feed the animals. Conkers lay on the floor of her cage and cried the whole time Elizabeth was gone. I told her next time, just bring her along.
ReplyDeleteYea Harry, I figure they better get caught by me, as my neighbor just drowns them in the cage when he catches them. I don't mean them no harm, but I don't want them getting any ideas that they can start moving into the eves of the house. One of them started gnawing on the fascia boards where the power line hooks on to the house like he might be trying to get in. These guys are definitely not tame by any reach of the imagination. They are quite aggressive. Had one get in to the mud room last year and while I was trying to chase him out he bit me. Your daughter's pet squirrel sounds like our cat, she gets a bit wigged out if we leave her alone.
DeleteI'd like to put my boot up that guys ass. I can't stand casual cruelty, I've seen too much of it.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean Harry. But I need to be able to maintain a civil situation between my neighbor and me. So there is not much I can do short of catching them myself and giving them a chance elsewhere. Which in the end works out for all of us.
DeleteThose reds are destructive. Me and B&A took 70 of them off dad's back lawn back in '97 over the course of a summer. Their bodies brought the raccoons, which is another story, ripe with a .32 magnum!
ReplyDeleteHey Mark, The thing of it is this fella don't look like any red squirrel I've ever seen. Not sure he is one. He might be a mutt of some kind. So far he seems to be behaving and only comes by once and a while. The grays on the other hand seem to be getting a bit aggressive these days.
DeleteWhen I was a kid, we had a few grays in Presque Isle, but none in Ashland. Then again, we didn't have any turkeys. Not so much now!
ReplyDeleteWe got the tree rats everywhere. Unfortunately its a byproduct of people putting out bird feeders. Yes I am guilty as charged. Turkeys we used to have here in flocks of 50 or more. And then a couple of years ago they put in a development that cut the path off between our neighborhood and the woods and we don't see them any more.
Delete