Gus

I have an addendum to the post I made a while back, entitled Brave Guard Dog.

Spring came, so did summer, and now we are into Fall. Snickers spent both Spring and Summer hunting for the 13-stripe squirrel. No luck. The critter left his scent everywhere near the bird feeder, but he could not be tracked. He is like some super-villain or something -- leaving destruction in his wake (missing bird food) and only dead ends when the law (Snickers) tries to follow him.

In general, my brave guard dog no longer stands watch over the bird feeder, peering out the window with his front paws on the arm of my favorite chair. Rather, he sits or lies down to peer through the window with his chin on the arm rest, waiting for the villainous varmit to appear. He guards the feeder so intensely that yesterday, he mistook for a threat a robin that came to light on the back side of the feeder. Snickers attacked the window. The robin flew away. The bird feeder was once again safe. (Whew!)

The little squirrel, now dubbed "Gus," stopped being able to find bird seed on the ground when all the snow melted. Because he could no longer find seed on the ground to collect, and the bird feeder is mounted on a shepherd's hook, the clever little rascal learned to climb up inside a nearby bush, leap onto the bird feeder and pull seed out of the holes in the feeder.

Gus' behavior began in Spring and continued through summer. A few weeks ago, my baby brother came over and moved the bird feeder farther away from the bush, turning the double-hook so that the taller one was closest to the bush. It took a few days, but the little squirrel figured it out. I have to admit, I rather admire his persistence.

I think that climbing narrow poles is not something most squirrels learn how to do naturally. It took our little friend several tries to learn how to create the resistance necessary to allow him to shimmy up the shepherd's hook. The bird food no longer in immediate danger, Snickers took a well-deserved break from his guard dog duties as Mom and I mirthfully observed Gus' learning curve. Honestly, neither one of us thought he would be able to do it, but he did.

After learning to shimmy up the pole, the problem became getting food from the feeder. Every time Gus let go of the pole to reach over for food, he would slide down to the ground again. Over and over he tried, with the same result every time. Up he would shimmy, and as soon as he tried to reach over to grab a bite to eat, down he would slide. The poor little thing (but it was very funny). I imagine he must have heard Mom and me giggling at him through the glass of the window, but he did not let it distract him. He just kept trying.

Eventually, Gus figured out that he could climb up the pole all the way, land on top of the feeder and climb down its outside to get to the hole where food is dispensed. The bird food is no longer safe. Thankfully, I have a brave guard dog to chase Gus away so that the food is reserved for birds.

~ author Beth Durkee