Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for November 03, 2013

No such thing as a bird feeder. Squirrel feeders, yeah, but not bird feeders.

They are certainly clever…if they make it past the young and dumb stage.

I’m thinking I’ll go with Capn Eddie on this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY9Yf26J4ZM#t=62

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1-XU5Yx3qE

If I remember correctly, at the end of “Daylight Robbery” (see my first link above) they show a “squirrel proof” feeder that closes when a squirrel gets on it (squirrels being heavier than birds). But in the sequel (Daylight Robbery II) it is revealed that the squirrels eventually defeated it. A squirrel would get on the back of it, acting as a counterweight, while his friends eat.

Whoa, hey! I thought Homer was supposed to finish his story on Sundays?

My first thought as I read this was of Tom Cruise. It must be the height thing.

A six ft. tall metal T shaped pole, with a two ft. wide baffle, four feet up, and at least ten ft. from any launching point, should do the trick, for maybe 99% of them. But there’s always that one wise guy….I admire a good adversary….

Dogsmith, good point. Didn’t think about one riding on a gull, but it would explain a lot….couldn’t help but notice Wiley thought about it…

Wiley, great action sequences….Dang, I usually try to pick a favorite panel on your Sunday beauties, but all of these are so great, it’s kinda silly to try…But I’ve narrowed it down to panels 1,2,3,4,5,6, and seven…..Love the birds at the feeder…and the cheesy smile on the squirrel when he Twangs off the wire…Then calmly riding on the back of the gull….Man..

Squirrels are aliens from outer space who have endeared themsleves to humanity while making notes on how to overthrow the Earth. I wouldn’t rule out a ‘Transpo-tah beam’ either.

What a great strip by Wiley today – love it!

O_o where is the past life of homer or whatever?

Hammy crossover from “Over the Hedge”? He does have moments of brilliance once in awhile.

A reliable way to keep squirrels out of the bird seed: mix crushed red pepper into you bird seed. Mammals can taste the capsaicin, birds cannot. The squirrels won’t keep visiting your bird feeder for long.

@thebird55 -I bought one of the “squirrel-proof” feeders, actually a pair of them, where the perches are spring-loaded such that the weight of a bird or two will allow access to the seed trough, but the weight of a squirrel will close off access to the seed. They were mounted on those big steel shepherd-crooks with hooks on them, one filled with sunflower seeds, the other with a wild songbird mixture.

I watched as one of the tree-rats, in frustration, decided if he/she couldn’t get to the seeds inside (or chew through the metal containment of the feeder) he/she’d just pee on the feeder. But after a while, the squirrels learned that if they jumped up and down on the feeder enough, it would shake seed out of the trough and onto the ground, where they could feast to their hearts content. Shook a full five-pound bag of wild bird mix out of the feeder in a single day.

And my thistle seed finch feeder has been destroyed by them squirrels too many times, and that seed is too expensive to keep replacing feeders.

Now I don’t fill the feeders any more. The birds can fend for themselves.

I found that the squirrels leave the feeder alone (for the most part) if you leave a little seed out where they can get it.

Must admit… theys is sho enough is smart…

Yes, my friend had an inaccessible squirrel – I mean bird feeder across the yard at his Georgia-mountain cabin. So a squirrel would jump onto the porch rail, get a bead on the feeder, and FLY across the yard so that its trajectory would land it on the feeder, I’ve told several times about the fat squirrel at Homosassa Springs, FL, that would show up during manatee feedings. Lots of alfalfa sprouts were floating in the water. The squirrel would hang from a boardwalk by its back feet, and scoop up armloads of food for itself.

I vote for the rodents.

I solved the problem. It’s really easy, too. You have to have trees to hang the feeders from, though,.

There are smart and there are squirrels of course…..

Why aren’t the gulls using the feeder?

don’t have no squirrels in my part of CA….the birds enjoy every bit of seed I feed ’em!!

This is a good one ,but logic states that if you have a bird feeder on any boat or ship such as this…..eventually you will discover the reason for the term “Poop Deck”

Squirrel’s are entitled to as much birdseed as they can get! They contribute to the reforesting of America by burying nuts. They also helped win our independence, since alot of American minutemen learned marksmanship while squirrel hunting!

My favorite panel is 4 – TWANNG! with the smiling, flying squirrel!

“There are no squirrel proof birdfeeders, only…”.…people who put out something for the squirrels that’s easier to get to.

Asharah, OK, it’s a bit of a stretch, but point well taken…I like squirrels, but I enjoy the challenge frustrating the little boogers….I’ve got a bird watching window for the cats….T shape with a baffle, tucked under the eve about 6 inches away from the window. Nothing comes up from below…even coons….But there is one squirrel that somehow swings backwards under the eve to land on top of the bar holding the feeders…..Truly a worthy opponent….Putting out cobs of corn keeps the squirrels busy.

I was talking to my neighbor underneath his red pines. A corn cob dropped down out of one and landed between us. The look on his face was great! I had a clue, but he definitely had a WTF moment…Cracked me up….

Meowlin, corn cobs really do help….around here it brings dear around, too….Good for photography….

This is why I suggest those squirrel twirler bird feeders… Damn they’re hilarious.

I’m stickin’ with my spellin’ of deer…Doh!

Let’s not forget about the leaf falling in front of panel 1 and 2. Does that count as another panel? Sort of a 3D panel? You’re killin’ me Miller….

Where there is a will, there is a way to stop squirrels…ours is called a ‘cat’.

Try a Droll Yankee feeder – http://www.drollyankees.com/ eventually the squirrels figure it out, but watching the Bas***ds flung into space in the meantime makes it worthwhile

I just love panel 5 and the dirty look the gull is giving the squirrel.

Safflower seeds. The squirrels don’t like them and will only barley nibble the ones fallen on the ground—but not always—when they’re absolutely starving. I have a Squirrel Buster and they learned how to get it swinging so some seed would fall out before the cage closed, but with safflower in there? Nahhh, not worth a single leap. And they don’t get used to it over time, either.

Why are birds worthy of being fed, but not squirrels?

We found birdseed that the squirrels don’t like. Problem solved. We also leave other food out for the squirrels because we like them too.

if you hang it, they will come.

I saw the first panel and thought "Rocky! The Flying Squrirrel!

We have no such trouble with our squirrels in Europe, the tiny red ones. Your American gray squirrels are bigger, bolder and brighter, I think,and I hope they won’t get to Poland, because he little red’s don’t have any chance with them.