On occasion it becomes necessary to deter, with extreme prejudice, a squirrel from eating all the bird food we put out. We like the birds because they look nice, sound pretty good and eat lots of bugs*. But when a squirrel (aka tree rat) performs their acrobatics to get to the feeder I turn to my trusty pellet rifle. At first I scare them by shooting the feeder itself, which of course causes a fairly loud "pang"! The feeder is about 15' off the ground, which I thought might have been a deterrent. But squirrels jump right off and land, no problem. If the squirrel returns more than 2 or 3 times on a given day, and I'm there to see it, well, its time comes to an end. This time I was the unwitting accomplice to another's hunting mission. I shot said squirrel, it jumped to the ground and then, no more than two seconds later, a red-tailed hawk flew in front of me across the yard. Swooping and returning he then landed atop the injured squirrel and held it tight to the ground.
Holding it there for a few minutes, awaiting death and picking at it a bit, the hawk's head remained a swivel.
*earlier this year I really wished the birds would have eaten some gypsy moths, but it turns out they hate them as much as anyone.
Eventually the squirrel stopped any struggle. And off went the noble bird, squirrel-in-tow, thus completing the circle of life.
*earlier this year I really wished the birds would have eaten some gypsy moths, but it turns out they hate them as much as anyone.
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