I was quite entertained last weekend with the most prevalent visitor to our backyard, the Gray Squirrel. They were quick active and east like the little piggies they are. Many take turns bellying-up to feed in the squirrel shack.
They also very much enjoy chowing down peanuts from atop the woodpile…as do the Blue jays. Here are a few other shots from last weekend.
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The many faces of “Hungry” from our backyard. I assure you, no creatures is hungry for long or actually goes hungry. Our Gray Squirrels, along with the occasional sparrow, love their sunflower seeds. All are quite fat and happy.
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Eastern Bluebirds.
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Red-bellied Woodpecker.
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Finches.
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Hairy Woodpecker.
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Northern Flicker.
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Squirrel proofing is only as good as the install. The Perky Pet Squirrel-Proof Wild Bird Feeder is a pretty good design. This little smarty-pants has figured out that if it sits on the rope its weight will not shut the feed holes. Congratulations; you deserve unlimited access for an hour or two. Smart little buggers!
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The following series of photos where shot over the course of three different days in our backyard. Cyndie and I have worked hard to create a backyard oasis for ourselves, but also the critters that scamper and fly too. They provide hours of entertainment. We have enjoyed the blue jays and their fondness for peanuts lately. Every Saturday & Sunday we put out about 2 lbs scattered over 3 locations. There is always one that arrives ahead of the rest and stashes as much as he can in the tall grass; once the other five arrive, he is off to consume the hidden stash while the rest vi for the balance. The blue jay’s have stiff competition for those peanuts and time is of the essence. At any given time throughout the day there is 10-12 grey and 1-2 red squirrels milling about. The blue birds pile in for a drink a few times throughout the day. 4 to 5 crows often fly in for a visit; they do nothing but sit on a tree branches, watch all the commotion below and then fly off. All the while dozens of sparrow zoom from spot to spot where the squirrels have scattered seed from feeders above. We have a pair of pileated woodpeckers that frequent our backyard. They have a few favorite dead trees in the woods just beyond the backyard. They are beautiful, but very destructive. I put out two suet plug feeders and they shredded them both over the course of a couple of days.
The grey squirrels spend most of their time taking turns grabbing peanuts or sunflower seeds from the feed hopper in the squirrel hut while evading the ever-hostile red squirrel who is seemingly always on the offensive. The squirrel hut was born out of necessity. The feed was drawing unwanted attention from deer and coons. That was easily fixed by making fine-mesh wire cage with a roof mounted on pedestal with a locking door with access in the rear only large enough for squirrels (and birds) to go in and out of. Inside the hut is a baby pig feeder filled with peanuts or sunflower seeds or both. Needless to say, the critters freaking love it.
As much as I enjoy watching the squirrels and their crazy antics, I don’t like the mess they make and the damage they cause to our bird feeders. This is precisely why I have never paid much for a bird feeder. A recent addition to our bird feeder compliment has them all flustered. My lovely and thoughtful wife Cyndie presented me with a Squirrel Buster Plus feeder for our wedding anniversary. I absolutely love this feeder; the squirrels not so much. I have since added two Squirrel Buster Mini’s to the mix with the same result. I am very impressed with these feeders and we are going through a lot less of the expensive feed as a result. Our squirrel’s ninja-like skills are no match for these feeders. They are quite smart and very persistent though. We have a half-dozen other smaller feeders on dual shepherds hooks that the squirrels have no issue accessing. I have yet to try the Vaseline trick, but it sure looks funny. Not so great of a solution in cold temps though. Over time, I expect to change out all the other feeders for squirrel buster models.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9-rE5RBZvU
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It was a bone-chilling 19 degrees when we awoke Saturday morning. It felt cold, but it wasn’t the cold that chills your core and burns your face, you know that type of cold that hits you around the end of January when you wish Winter were over. Cyndie & I, along with our good friend Linnae, arrived at Fort Snelling State Park shortly after sunrise. Traces of Autumn can still be seen, but for the most part the brilliant colors are gone – almost. We found some lovely color enhanced by the rising sun along the western shore of Snelling Lake.
Our primary purpose of this trip was to photograph Whitetail deer – specifically [& hopefully] big bucks. It is that time of the year when bucks break away from their traditional habits and venture out of the thick stuff in search of receptive does in the day light.
We found such activity quickly on Picnic Island. We noticed several scrapes and rubs. Pre-rut signs galore. There were no shortages of photographers on-hand to witness this spectacle. We spent a good amount of time watching a dandy 9-pointer pursue does all over Picnic Island. There were other smaller bucks darting about and avoiding direct contact with the bigger buck.
We decided to delve further in and explore another area of the park. Pike Island, a walk in only area, was just down the road. I am glad we opted to do this. The temperature was rising as was our excitement; we had buck fever.
We walked around the perimeter of Pike Island (mostly; except the eastern third) without seeing so much as a yearling. We decided to walk a game trail up the center. There were brush piles everywhere – all kinds of places for deer to bed down for a mid-day rest. It wasn’t long and we located a small buck. As I began to photograph him I noticed there was another buck behind him – a much bigger one. I continued to shoot and eventually saw the doe that was hunkered down in the grass next to them. I think we spent the next hour hanging out with those three deer. At one point a dozen or so turkeys came wandering down the trail and just walked on by like we were not even there. That was fun. What a great day.
*Just a side note on gear, you regularly see photographers hauling out the big lenses for wildlife. Thousands of dollars of gear. With the exception of the first few landscape shot, the balance of these images were shot with a Tamron 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 – a $449.00 lens; not a $2500 or $10k lens. The 70-300 was attached to a Nikon D700 shooting at ISO 2000 between f/5.6 – f/7.1. I am not going to lie, I would gladly shoot with a $10k lens if I had it. This is a simply demonstration that you do not need all that if you want to get out there and have a great time – especially at this location. The high-ISO performance of a full-frame sensor was beneficial given the low light.
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