Some do play nice

While I was catching up in the blogs a few weeks back, I stumbled across an entry at Deanna's entitled b...bu...but we have squirrels! that made me think of a picture I'd snapped just a few days prior. I wasn't going to post it right away because I was in the middle of that meme and I didn't want to interrupt the flow I had going. We all know what happens when THAT happens!

Anyhow, she was discussing why we haven't seen anymore of those squirrelly stories coming from her neck of the woods. It seems that they've taken to bum-rushing the feeders meant for the pretty birdies and hogging down all the seed. The birds don't seem to enjoy this harassment and have stopped coming around.

I'm here to tell you that they can and do manage to share eating quarters very nicely, it all depends on where you're located. You see, for those who don't read Deanna's blog, she lives way out in the Boonie-docks with trees and all that lovely nature around her. The squirrels don't have as much selection in a free buffet there as they do in the middle of town, like where I live. Cul-de-sac after cul-de-sac after cul-de-sac filled with townhouses. It's much like living in a fish bowl. I hate it. Behind us is a strip mall then a busy street and on the other side of that is a big mall. Needless to say, the squirrels gotta get when and where they can and if it means being nice to the birds to get a share, then so be it. It might help that 80% of the birdies here are brown and kinda blend in with the ground... might also help that the Mourning Doves show up in a flock of  7-8 and each one is almost as large as the squirrel. Then again, it might be that one dove that I nicknamed "The Godfather" because of the way the others seem to defer to it. Just sayin'.

There's at least 6, if not 7, assorted birds on the right.
I've got other birdie pictures that I'll post at a later time..... more colorful ones :)

7 comments:

Toriz said...

See; the animals have figured it out... When resources are short, co-operation is the key! ;)

Intense Guy said...

Checks to see if the squirrel is just a picture of a squirrel glued to a bit of cardboard...

Hmm.. nope.. seems to be a genuine item...

Guess godfather dove made him an offer he couldnt refuse...

ChicagoLady said...

Male and female House Sparrows, they'll share seed with anyone, lol.

My birds will still come to the feeder even if Charlie is eating seed below them. As long as he's not hanging on the feeder stealing seed that way. I also keep a bag of peanuts in the shell to toss out to Charlie to help minimize the eating of seed.

Deanna said...

Ha! I guess Missouri species have a thing or two to learn. My hummingbirds have finally learned how to grudgingly share the feeder... does that count for anything!?!

Queenie Jeannie said...

There are NO squirrels in Italy!! I mean it! Of course the country is over-run with feral cats and that might have something to do with it....

Texas Gal said...

wild animals are a strange lot...but they seem to get along better than humans anymore. They've even learned to share..well in Va they have :D

Pamela said...

House sparrows - and a mourning dove. I have baby house sparrows in a bird house hanging on my patio. They are not native, so they are not protected (neither are the pidgeons you see flying around town, nor are starlings) But the sparrows really keep the bugs off our garden when they are feeding their young - so we have a mutual agreement. We tolerate them having a nest on our patio, and they tolerate us barbecuing their cousin the chicken.

As for the squirrels -- someone told me they saw one picking their raspberries. And I believe it.

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails