The squirels have adapted again - they pull a feeder in by hanging from a branch upside down, grabbing a perch and pulling the feeder to them . But this is hard work so they started to come into our small gardens . (next door has feeders on his bay window) I had to chase one off my path and up it's tree . On returning to my house I saw one sat infront of my open front door. . . . I got a Bullseye with last drop of water in my squirter and off it shot. . . I've not seen much off them until yesterday when a young squirel tried the upside- down trick with a feeder . . . . . . Whoops ! . . down it went but managed to grab the last perch and save itself. It then sat looking at the feeder but It could'nt figure how to get the grub so it left - for a house further down the street . Ha! Ha! . (Saw it eating a piece of bread later- on, on their garden wall ). . . Ps. I reduced the amount of feeders in the tree by 50% - I put the other one in my back-yard.

Up last friday morning at 4.30am and filled feeders by 5am . . Gold and Greenfinch began to arrive then the Squirrel. . . . . . . A battle then commenced - it was squirted and whacked with my fiberglass pole. But it kept coming back and it brought a juvenile with it. . At 5.45am I decided to take the feeders down and give up . . As a last resort I crushed dry chillies , mixed them with sunflower oil and covered a feeder with it. . . The squirels can only get the seeds by pulling the feeder in by grabbing a perch on the feeder from a nearby branch. (Which has now been cut off) They adapt so well but this seems to have worked for now. . . The bad news is they've assimilated a magpies old nest in the adjacent sorbus tree right next to the food source - Nature at it's best .