The squirrels are making me ‘nuts’ these days. They fly into the feeder from the nearby trees, slide down the top and onto the ledge. Take a peek.
Of course, we feed our birds year round, which entices the squirrels, but since getting this new camera, I have a new reason to be thankful for the heavy presence of our bird population. Just take a look at some of the things they are ridding me of.
And now I am totally addicted to trying to get shots of them with food in their mouths which isn’t always easy. But what fun to see things they consider ‘dinner’. Are you a bird fan? Do you try to catch them with unusual treats in their beaks?
How about the squirrels? Have to say that as annoying as they can be, they are so funny to watch. Sometimes when they fly over to the feeder they miss and hit the post which is hard plastic. Then they just slide down and have to start all over again. My husband loves to have his coffee while watching their ballet.
And having this new camera is giving me a whole new perspective on the great job they are doing – organically!
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Great shots of your feathered friends. I love squirrels too. My dog likes to point them out to me as we go on walks in the park. 🙂
Aren’t squirrels fun creatures? Glad you enjoy them too.
I guess I enjoy all critters. Squirrels are a hoot. My former husband used to say about squirrels: A case of great hardware but lousy software! I have a bird feeder that neither the squirrels nor the cats can get to, although they all knock themselves out trying. The squirrels can take advantage of the birdbath that I hang from the fence. It took me a while to figure out how those tiny little birds could tip the birdbath. I’ve even got a hummingbird feeder out this year, but it doesn’t get a lot of action. Later this month I will do some volunteer hummingbird banding–a new experience that I’m really looking forward to.
You’ve got some really stellar shots here.
Thanks Linda. It’s been fun watching them collect dinner.
We have loads of birds, feeders and squirrels. I love watching the squirrels. I figure that any critter that can outsmart any invention made by man deserves to win sometimes.
We have a Droll Yankee squirrel spinner which is one of the funniest things I have ever seen.
They do outsmart us and never give up. They just keep on coming back even when we try to run them off so the birds can come in for a snack.
What’s that hanging from your mouth? Brilliant, Renee. Frogs are good that way too. They’ll keep the snail population under control.
Love birds. Can’t see or hear one without thinking of my grandfather. I reserve a unique hatred for squirrels. The grey ones. Obviously red ones are forgiven anything. But the grey ones. A bane. Let’s forget them digging up flower bulbs before they have had time to hatch. Worse: They’d run along top of the fence and swing from my eight foot tall sunflowers breaking off their heads. There were times (I currently don’t have a garden) when, if I were American, I’d have gladly taken to my shooter. On the other hand, whenever I found a squirrel run over by a car I pitied it. The only positive thing that can be said about (grey) squirrels is that they’d make good accountants.And fund managers.
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…and comics! They are brilliant comedians. We laugh at their antics though they can be a pain in the neck. Glad you liked this post Ursula.
Good catches (literally and figuratively) Renee. The first bird with a seed in its beak…amazing!
Glad you enjoyed my little feathered friends. We love them.
Wonderful photos! It sounds like your animal friends are providing hours of entertainment.
And the zoom lens is making it possible to catch them in the act!
I love the huge variety of “critters” I get in the garden. The birds (including hummingbirds) are wonderful, but so are the possums, squirrels, raccoons, snakes and various rats and mice. I can spend hours just wating the dogs watch the wildlife!
Me too. Although, I am not much of a fan of snakes, there is nothing cuter than a baby possum.
You get much better bird pix than I do. Squirrels are such clowns. There’s one along our dog walk route we call the “Friendly Squirrel” – every time it sees us it runs towards right towards us – across roads…following us down the walk as I am desperately pulling Molly along while she twists around wanting to stop. It would not turn out well squirrel.
I think Gretel just wants to play with them. I did find one deceased squirrel but it didn’t have any marks on it. It was so fat my husband said it likely died of a heart attack. ???
Heart attack brought on by being carried around like a stuffed toy….the things we pry out of Molly’s mouth…never bloodied, but limp
You are probably right. Gretel picks up everything in her mouth. Poor squirrel.
I’m happy to see you’ve found something to photograph with your new camera. Squirrels are worth their peanuts in entertainment. Nice shots! If your birds get hungry, I have a few mosquitoes over here…
It’s amazing to see what I’ve been missing. I’ve been so envious of your beautiful bird pics…
Love the photography! Squirrels don’t have much of a chance in our backyard with 2 big dogs, and I try to give them fair warning before the dogs need letting out! I’ve been watching the progress of an osprey nest near our cottage but they sure don’t like me coming too close in my kayak – photos may not happen 😦
An osprey nest sounds wonderful. I’ve seen them at the coast. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for luck.
Ooh, Renee, such great photos! You’re a regular National Geographic photographer and bird enthusiast all rolled into one! You captured the squirrel very well, which means you have an awesome camera. Looking forward to more pix!
I am in love with this camera. I have wanted to capture the squirrels for such a long time. They really are funny.
Impressive that you’ve gotten these shots of the birds in dining mode! Love it! I enjoy watching birds, although I am certainly not a birder…I can only name a few of the ones I see in our area. We have eagles that are in front of our windows almost every day. It’s fun to watch them circle around and dive for fish! ~ Sheila
Eagles? You lucky duck. I think they are fabulous. We don’t have any right around where I live, but the beach we often visit has a several of them nesting in the marshlands. They are terrific.
Hey, I offer free bed and breakfast lodging to anyone who wants to come up and watch the eagles and the water traffic from my front windows! (This is my sneaky way to entice visitors to come!) Let me know…I’ll leave a light on! ~ Sheila
That is the best offer I’d had in a long time. We could photograph the eagles, grill pizzas, and write, write, write! Even if I’m stuck in a monsoon right now, I’m imagining flying out to hot, sunny Alaska (is it even possible I’m saying that?) Enjoy the good weather.
:)…just let me know! If I’m in town, my door is open! ~ Sheila
Same here. Come on down.
We have feeders and the wildlife is relaxing. Two things about the squirrels …. some are aliens (actually my next post) … and here’s some of their training.
Great pictures of your feathered friends. But the squirrels seem to be fun too, although I do understand your agony.