Garden Gremlins

We've always had one or two squirrels that make themselves at home in the garden.  They can be quite entertaining chasing each other around the garden and through the trees.  For all of their cheeky charm they can be a nuisance.  They can wade through a bird feeder full of sunflower hearts in less than a morning.

You scratch my back...

I may not be the grey squirrel's biggest fan, but nor would I do anything that would injure or hurt them in anyway so we've opted for more preventative measures to stop them stealing the food by adding chilli powder.  They can still help themselves to the peanuts we put out, the feeders themselves tend to restrict them from guzzling the lot.

They can be a bit brazen when it comes to feeding.  The picture below is just before he makes a leap for the window feeder.  He almost seems to be checking if the coast is clear.

Casing the joint

The inevitable outcome was squirrel and window feeder taking a tumble.

It's fun to watch them speeding through the treetops and the incredible distance they achieve when leaping from one tree to another.  Their agility is second to none.

As of last Sunday, we currently have four squirrels in the garden.  We watched them chasing one another but we aren't sure if they are a family unit or two pairs that are defending their territory.  Some of them also seemed to have developed a taste for chilli as we've spotted greys munching at the coated sunflower hearts with enthusiasm.

We're going to need to come up with a plan B.