Dumb Squirrel

Squirrels are not the smartest animal on the block. Hubby feeds the birds. We have tried different kinds of bird feeders to thwart the squirrels. We used to have the kind that had a circular perch that would spin if anything heavy (like a squirrel or 3 purple grackles) landed on it. It worked but we had to be careful not to put it too high off the ground because it was not our intent to maim the squirrels. It also splayed seeds all over the ground. We sold it at the Lion's garage sale and bought the kind that is shaped like a little house and has a door that closes if anything too heavy gets on the perch. We also use a squirrel baffle and that keeps the squirrels out and the door keeps the purple grackles out. We have the new feeder mounted inside a half barrel that catches the seed shells. It has a wide mesh screen across the top so that we are not feeding chipmunks although if we do not keep the hibiscus trimmed they will go out on the end of a branch to dip down and reach the feeder. The old feeder was on a narrow PVC pipe hanging from a branch in the tree because it needed to support the weight of the feeder. The new feeder is on a pole up from the ground. We have many other feeders, a thistle feeder, a ball type feeder that the chickadees go inside to eat the shelled safflower seeds, a hummingbird feeder, an oriole feeder and a wire cage feeder that we filled with peanuts for the woodpeckers and nuthatches. Most of the feeders are on thin wires but since the PVC pipe was already hanging out there, Hubby used it for the peanut cage. We have been having trouble with a squirrel coming down the pipe and eating the peanuts and destroying the feeder by pulling the wires apart. Today Hubby took down the hummingbird feeder and moved the peanuts to a wire. While I was looking out the window I saw a squirrel come down the PVC pipe as he had been accustomed to doing only there was nothing hanging on the pipe. He was definitely confused and he tried to go back up the pipe but there was nothing on the end for him to get his footing. He hung on for a while before he dropped to the ground. I wonder if he will try it again.