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Houdini the squirrel...pretty ingenious critters! (imgs)

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drcannon

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This guy we've named Houdini will do anything for a meal and it's quite entertaining to watch. At first, we were pretty aggravated at the squirrels getting into all the bird feeders and tried several methods to deter their food theft. We even tried the "guaranteed" Squirrel-B-Gone" feeder but they found a way to get the food anyway and they eventually literally destroyed it. Got our money back on that one. One thing I've learned about squirrels....the old addage "if you can't beat them, join them" certainly applies. They're cute and I enjoy their antics but we just didn't want them getting into the bird feeders and eating all the bird's food. Sooo...we thought we'd get them their own feeder, stick it on a tree limb away from the other feeders and see what happens. So far it's working. These guys love to show off their ingenuity, so this tube feeder is doing the trick (so to speak). Here's Houdini in action.
DC

Shot in RAW mode, straight from the camera, no post processing. ISO 400.

"Aren't I cute...and angelic?"



"Hmmm...I smell food."



"Hey, this is easy and fun (thank God for back feet and a strong tail!)."



"Yummm. Wonder what the monkeys are up to."



"Man, that made me dizzy. I'll finish off this morsel then back at it."



"Hey....you with the camera...did ya get all that?"

 
These are great shots. I may have to do this to get my squirrels in check around my house as well.

Chipmunks are equally ingenuitive and destructive to bird feeders.

Last summer I ended up trapping (in an animal safe trap) and moving my Chipmunks (4 of them) to a local park. They would climb up on the feeders, and just lay there and rake the seed into their mouths. Such Gluttons!

Thanks for sharing

--
Andy
http://www.pandasystems.net/gallery
drcannon said:
This guy we've named Houdini will do anything for a meal and it's
quite entertaining to watch. At first, we were pretty aggravated at
the squirrels getting into all the bird feeders and tried several
methods to deter their food theft. We even tried the "guaranteed"
Squirrel-B-Gone" feeder but they found a way to get the food anyway
and they eventually literally destroyed it. Got our money back on
that one. One thing I've learned about squirrels....the old addage
"if you can't beat them, join them" certainly applies. They're cute
and I enjoy their antics but we just didn't want them getting into
the bird feeders and eating all the bird's food. Sooo...we thought
we'd get them their own feeder, stick it on a tree limb away from
the other feeders and see what happens. So far it's working. These
guys love to show off their ingenuity, so this tube feeder is doing
the trick (so to speak). Here's Houdini in action.
DC

Shot in RAW mode, straight from the camera, no post processing. ISO
400.
Click to expand...
 
DC-

the squirrels at my parents old house were equally gymnastic, creative and clever. at one point, that had figured out not only how to unscrew the wing-nut on the top of the birdfeeder, but how to defeat the counterweight mechanism that supposedly kept them out of the seed in another feeder. amazing little critters.
thanks for the pics,
jim.
--

In photography there is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality. -Alfred Stieglitz
 
JuSh80 said:
what lens and what settings?
Click to expand...
It's a Sigma 70-200 2.8 HSM EX I got just a few days ago so I'd have something to use while I send my back-focusing 70-200 f4 L to Canon for evaluation. I also needed a faster lens for low light situations, and can't afford the Canon 2.8.

Settings: Shot from inside house with lens resting on window sill (window open). RAW, ISO 400, Av set to 4.5, Tv varied from 1/320 to 1/500. All at full zoom. Custom parameter with Sharpness and Saturation set to +1. Contrast and Color Tone set to Normal. Autofocus using center-only point. No post processing, straight from camera. Very nice lens and so far image quality seems to be right up there with the Canon. And a BIG plus....unlike the Canon, focusing is pinpoint accurate.

DC
 
drcannon said:
This guy we've named Houdini will do anything for a meal and it's
quite entertaining to watch.
Click to expand...
The BBC made a wonderful programme about squirrels stealing from feeders called "Daylight Robbery". They built and expanded an obstacle course making it more and more difficult, and set up cameras to trap the squirrels various attempts and how quickly they learnt.

You can see a small part of the video clips at the following site
http://www.squirrels.org/video.html

it's worth watching the programme if a repeat appears on a TV channel.

Bruce Hamilton
 
Great photos.

They are very cute animals.What a pitty we don't have them in Portugal.

Keep the shooting.

--
I'll be around.

--Joaquim--
'Don't be afraid to ask what you don't know. It's the only way to learn!'
Canon EOS 300D
+ kit lens
+ Tamron 28-200mm 3.8-5.6 XR
+ Canon 50mm 1.8 II
My Gallery: http://www.pbase.com/joaquim
 
drcannon said:
This guy we've named Houdini will do anything for a meal and it's
quite entertaining to watch. At first, we were pretty aggravated at
the squirrels getting into all the bird feeders and tried several
methods to deter their food theft. We even tried the "guaranteed"
Squirrel-B-Gone" feeder but they found a way to get the food anyway
and they eventually literally destroyed it. Got our money back on
that one. One thing I've learned about squirrels....the old addage
"if you can't beat them, join them" certainly applies. They're cute
and I enjoy their antics but we just didn't want them getting into
the bird feeders and eating all the bird's food. Sooo...we thought
we'd get them their own feeder, stick it on a tree limb away from
the other feeders and see what happens. So far it's working. These
guys love to show off their ingenuity, so this tube feeder is doing
the trick (so to speak). Here's Houdini in action.
DC

Shot in RAW mode, straight from the camera, no post processing. ISO
400.

"Aren't I cute...and angelic?"



"Hmmm...I smell food."



"Hey, this is easy and fun (thank God for back feet and a strong
tail!)."



"Yummm. Wonder what the monkeys are up to."



"Man, that made me dizzy. I'll finish off this morsel then back at
it."



"Hey....you with the camera...did ya get all that?"

Click to expand...
 
Bruce Hamilton said:
The BBC made a wonderful programme about squirrels stealing from
feeders called "Daylight Robbery". They built and expanded an
obstacle course making it more and more difficult, and set up
cameras to trap the squirrels various attempts and how quickly they
learnt.

You can see a small part of the video clips at the following site
http://www.squirrels.org/video.html

it's worth watching the programme if a repeat appears on a TV channel.

Bruce Hamilton
Click to expand...
Thanks for the links, Bruce. These guys amaze me more and more. They must all be born as part of a "Squirrel MENSA"!
DC
 
Don't know if any of you saw this in an earlier post, but a friend of mine is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator here in N. Alabama and was given this beautiful baby squirrel that apparently fell out of its nest and near death when found. When she first got him, his eyes were still closed, very little fur and only a couple weeks old. Looked more like a rat than a squirrel. At the time I took these shots, he'd begun to recover nicely and was cuddly, liked to be petted, and would take a nap in the palm of my hand. I haven't seen him since then but my friend told me he's getting bigger, hates to be held, unruly, starting to bite, etc.....basically turning into a squirrel! So in a couple weeks he'll be taken to a protected wooded area out in the country and set free. He's a fortunate little squirrel! He would have surely died if it weren't for some caring individuals.
DC

Shot with kit lens.





 
drcannon said:
Don't know if any of you saw this in an earlier post, but a friend
of mine is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator here in N. Alabama and
was given this beautiful baby squirrel that apparently fell out of
its nest and near death when found. When she first got him, his
eyes were still closed, very little fur and only a couple weeks
old. Looked more like a rat than a squirrel. At the time I took
these shots, he'd begun to recover nicely and was cuddly, liked to
be petted, and would take a nap in the palm of my hand. I haven't
seen him since then but my friend told me he's getting bigger,
hates to be held, unruly, starting to bite, etc.....basically
turning into a squirrel! So in a couple weeks he'll be taken to a
protected wooded area out in the country and set free. He's a
fortunate little squirrel! He would have surely died if it weren't
for some caring individuals.
DC

Shot with kit lens.





Click to expand...
 
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