nemo@rochester.UUCP (Wolfe) (11/21/85)
About a month ago I was visiting the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge on the
north end of Cayuga Lake. There were numerous (1000's) of ducks & geese
there (mostly canvasbacks). Also two blue herons (! this late?). What
was new to me was the sound that dozens of geese flying low overhead
make: it recalls the cheeping of sparrows. They were not honking much
at all, but the noise from their beating wings was quite distinct from
maybe 100 yds below.
Now that it is feeder season again, and the squirrels are back in the
attic (*$@#$%*!!), I thought I might pass on some solutions I have
tried to keeping them out of attic, plants, and feeder. Neither moth
balls nor human hair clippings seemed to have any effect on them. The
moth balls were moved away by the squirrels within a week, and they were
totally oblivious to hair. Noisemakers and shields are unable to keep
them from the feeder (we rent and are reluctant to make installations
other than hanging things from a tree). I have decided to take the
approach that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. In addition to the feeder,
which I plan to make slightly more difficult to get to, I plan to put
up some swings (dowels suspended by two ropes from nearby branches) that
will provided the easiest route to the feeder for the little rodents.
That way I at least get to enjoy their acrobatics on the way to and from
the feeder rather than just cursing them and chasing them away (to no
avail). I'll post a short followup on how that turns out. In the
meanwhile, could someone send me a list of the truly squirrel-proof
feeders and where I can get them? (esp. the type that do not require a
pole stuck in the ground). Thanks,
Nemo
--
Internet: nemo@rochester.arpa
UUCP: {decvax, allegra, seismo, cmcl2}!rochester!nemo
Phone: [USA] (716) 275-5766 school 232-4690 home
USMail: 104 Tremont Circle; Rochester, NY 14608
School: Department of Computer Science; University of Rochester;
Rochester, NY 14627