It Takes a Thief

Six or eight weeks ago I found a bird feeder on clearance at Target for less than $3 and grabbed it. I still had a stash of birdseed from my last "urge" to feed the birds, so I came home and filled it up and hung it in my Bottle Brush tree out back. It took the birds a few weeks to find it.

I enjoyed sitting on my patio watching the birds come to the feeder and then flit around the yard from bush to tree to tree and back.

Fast forward through a bit of traveling and less time to sit around on the patio and you get to last weekend when I filled the feeder up again and rehung it.

On Wednesday I wandered out back to check on things and figured I'd see if there was evidence that the birds had been back. I was surprised to find the feeder almost empty. Really hungry birds? That didn't seem likely, but no other reasonable cause came to mind.

Less than an hour later I glanced out of my bedroom window and saw him. Nervy. Bold. A thief who I'm sure things of  himself as a clever thing. In fact, I'm sure  he thinks  he is totally innocent.

See, it has only been the last year or less that we've had squirrels in the neighborhood and I've only seen one in my yard one time before. 

Now I know. Fill the bird feeder -- feed the squirrel. So, do I just let him eat the rest of the stash and then call it an end to that phase or do I start playing the game where the human tries to outsmart the critter?

The thing is, after I took the first couple of photos, the screen door slammed shut and he jumped down from the feeder and dashed to the Live Oak... hiding behind the trunk and peeking around the side to see if I was still there or had given up. Like he knew I'd eventually go back in the house and he could finish his dinner in peace.

Silly squirrel.