It is proving immensely satisfying to shoot our local squirrels with the toy water gun we acquired last summer for the purpose. It's brightly coloured (and a sticker promises 'super power'), and the squirrels have only to see it in my hand now and they flee . . . while, on the whole, the local birds seem pretty unconcerned.
However, it has to be said that it doesn't put them off for long. They bound into the nearby tall trees, wait for me to go safely back indoors, then sneak straight back down again. They know very well, it would seem, that I can't stand guard for ever. Nor do I wish to, I have to say; I haven't really got anything against the squirrels - though I know they can be a pest, and that they will in season take eggs and chicks from nests. I don't mind that I'm feeding them as well as the birds, but it's a matter of balance, and I'm unhappy that a squirrel at the feeding station keeps the birds away. Anyway, I have now hung a feeder specially for the squirrels, and we'll see what that does.
There is also now a genuinely squirrel-proof feeder hanging away from the main feeding station, and it took no time at all for it to become the feeder of choice for many of our visiting birds. If the squirrel tries to get to the seeds, a cover slides shut over the feeder, so the squirrel has to give up and go away. Hooray! Except that a slight design hitch means that the metal sheath tends to stay down over the feeder, until moved back up by me, so the feeder becomes bird-proof as well!
The next tool in my armoury may well be a capsicum spray - not liked by squirrels, but not bothersome to birds, so I'm told. You can buy this, but perhaps I'll try making some. On a happy note, we've had a couple of visits from the woodpecker, the first time we've seen it for several weeks.
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