We have some very spoiled squirrels in our yard and they are probably the 3rd or 4th generation and have learned from their parents where the good stuff can be found. We started feeding birds years ago and it didn’t take long for the neighborhood squirrels to find it too.
We have always had a corn cob out for the squirrels and if we put sunflower seeds in a feeder that they can get into then they love them too. But sometimes they are happy just to pick the seeds up from the ground under the feeders.
We have started to put the sunflower seeds in a feeder that hangs on a chain that they can’t get to so they have to pick them up from the ground. I know that makes them unhappy but there is plenty of other stuff for them to eat in the yard.
We have two little chair feeders they can eat off the cob while sitting in the chair. One is an Adirondack chair and the other is the old fashioned metal yard chair that is so popular again. They are cute sitting in the chairs eating their meal.
Some of them have their own way of eating from the chairs. They will sit on one arm or hang by their back legs on the tree above the chair, but most of them will sit in the chair like a human to eat their corn on the cob. They will if not disturbed finish off a corn cob at one sitting.
Squirrels will not eat all of a kernel of corn. There is a sweet spot at the bottom of the kernel and that is what they are after. They take it out and the kernel breaks in half and they drop the rest of it. But thankfully a lot of the birds are not as picky and will clean it up on the ground.
I like to feed the blue jays whole peanuts and place them on the step at the patio door and always put a few on the brick ledge below the door. They are always on the lookout for them because it doesn’t take long for them to start to come up on the step or bricks and get a peanut.
. The squirrels also have a squirrel bungee cord that holds two cobs on the end and it didn’t take them long to figure it out when we first put it in the yard. It is hung high enough that they have to jump onto the corn cobs and when they do that it bounces while they are hanging there getting a couple kernels of corn. It is fun to watch them bounce up and down to get a bite.
There are always 3-4 other feeders out at all times. We have one that looks like a barn and one that is a picnic table. The squirrels sit on the benches to eat from the cob. We can also put a small bowl on the table instead of the corn cob on the spike.
We always have 2 tube feeders for the birds and 2 Hummingbird / Oriole feeders out in the yard. The Orioles love to steal juice from the hummingbird feeders even though it is hard for them to get their beak in the little slot. But they will steal from the hummers if they get a chance. They don’t seem to notice it is all the same Kool Aid in both of them.
We enjoy feeding and watching all the spoiled squirrels and birds that visit the yard every day of the year. To Contact Sandy: [email protected].
