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.