I have a new nemesis. Over a period of about two weeks last month no matter how I arranged my platform and hopper bird feeders for the winter, one squirrel always managed to find a way to get to the seed.
I have baffles on all of my poles, so I assumed he was jumping from the roof or a nearby shrub when I wasn’t looking.
I kept moving the poles further away from the house and the shrubs, but that didn’t deter him one bit. I was running out of time to find the perfect position because soon the ground would freeze.
Then one day while looking out of my bay window I saw this and scrambled to get a video. Here is a screenshot:
This goofy squirrel has an almost 4-foot vertical jump! I’ve never seen anything like it. No wonder it didn’t make a difference where I set up the poles.
I added more baffles and moved them even higher and that finally seemed to do the trick.
Although if we get any measurable snow this winter he’ll have a higher launching point, so I’m going to have to be diligent about shoveling under all the feeders.