SATURDAY MORNING AT THE BIRD FEEDER - WHAT HAPPENED?

 

Okay squirrel dear, here goes.  

The new birdfeeder was an early birthday present from the Mr.  It was ordered literally months ago, and we had forgotten all about it by the time it arrived recently.  The Mr. put it up for me and I was tickled pink.  It had a Wi-Fi and after he synced it to my phone, all I had to do was wait for a signal that a bird had arrived.  It took a couple of days for them to find it.  I just kept pointing in its direction every time one flew by.   I do love the squirrels but I ignored them, this was specifically for the birds.  Silly me, I thought they were too big to fit on the ledge.  They were obviously laughing at me behind their paws and claws.  

We had it for almost two fun-filled weeks when the Mr. told me that some industrious little thing had started chewing at the plastic cover enclosing the food.  Industrious little thing had artistically made a tooth-chewed arc out of the plastic cover. It was such a perfectly shaped arc I gave it a ten out of ten.  The cover is supposed to prevent any foraging to get to the birdseed, except for the birds as when the exposed seed on the ledge is empty, then other seed falls down to replace it.  However, industrious little thing had made the hole so that its small but muscle-bound arm could fit through.  More muscle power allowed it to eat yet more seed.

I filled it back up and thought it might have been a one-off and didn't think much about it for a couple of days. However, one afternoon there was this terrific bang.  The birdfeeder had literally been lifted off its moorings, and it and several other pieces were littered on the deck. The offending party was hightailing it at light speed up one of the branches.  Squirrel!!!  The Mr. put it back together and we optimistically thought it would be okay. And I was still getting plenty of bird photos on my phone.

The next day, in the early hours around 2.30 a.m., I was in bed but startled awake when I heard another terrific bang.  Somehow, I knew what that bang was as it was identical to the one before. But squirrels don’t come out in the middle of the night.  I ran down the stairs and peeked through the curtain.  Once again, the bird feeder was on the ground but this time it was in broken pieces.  The culprit was feeding on all the birdseed that had spilled out from the large container.  I opened the curtain and knocked on the glass loudly, in rapid succession.  This bad boy gave me a momentary look as if terribly bored at my unwarranted attention and continued to eat. I banged a few more times but stopped as I didn't want to wake the neighbors.  I certainly wasn't going out there to shoo him off!  I mean, look at that face!

He will be in my bad books for a bit, but I should have known better, it was my fault.  I am passed the time when I usually stop feeding the birds.  I reminded myself yet again, there is more than enough natural food out there now, and the raccoons have started their rounds.  Another lesson has been learned.  I need to stop this sooner.  At least he said, after he had eaten his fill...

I am still getting bird photos but not from this camera, from other people all over the world who have the same Wi-Fi bird feeder.  This feature is included in the initial price.  Yes, I am still in sync with others' bird feeders.  You get the option to share with others, which I thought was a lovely idea, or you can keep it private.  People are having a delightful time with their little tweety-visitors. I am seeing and enjoying birds I have never seen before, and hopefully, they don't have ravenous and industrious little things chewing off their plastic covers. I'll keep my fingers crossed for them. 

The good news to my story is that my other birthday present was the bird bath, and that's still in tact!  These thirsty birds will have a lot to drink during the hot summer months.

And this old bird learned another life lesson!