Squirrel Week - Episode 1

We have tried over the years to cultivate an environment for birds around our home. We have seed feeders in the yard, feeders in the woods, we've put in a maple tree that has blossomed into it's own ecosystem and our rugosa roses are sufficiently tall and thorny as to provide protection from even the most persistent raptor. 


This has resulted in not only a nice variety of bird species (though no Northern Flicker this year...) but also a ton of grey squirrels, red squirrels and chipmunks. Though I know some regard these rodents as pests, we've come to enjoy observing the relationships between these various species and the various members of each species (red squirrels being the crabbiest of the group). They each have their own personality and their own level of tolerance for us humans.


This week we'll post some recent photos we've been able to snap of these guys.

There is no doubt  that red squirrels enjoy a good view. We found this fellow surveying the scene as we approached one morning to refill the bird feeders.


This is not the first time we've found a seemingly "human" appreciation in red squirrels for a good view. I posted this picture in February of last year of a red squirrel enjoying a morning snack while watching sunrise from the very top of our Christmas tree which had found a new home on our deck after the holidays.