You know spring is coming around our house when the black squirrels are hanging from the suet feeders.
You know it’s spring when you tap on the window to startle them, and all he does is stop for a moment to see where the noise came from. You know it’s spring when you have to open the window and threaten his little fuzzy life before he’ll leave the suet alone. (for 10 minutes. Seriously. Why do I bother?)
You also know it’s spring around our house when there are new birdies hanging around, new as in other than goldfinch, house sparrows, house finches, cardinals, chickadees, hummingbirds and nuthatches.
This is a Dark Eyed Junco, I identified him through eNature. He and his pretty little girlfriend have been hanging out here for a few days now, and I couldn’t be more happy to host them. They’re really cute! I’m waiting for the really unique ones to stop by, like that smores lookin’ bird I saw last year, the Eastern Towhee. Oh come on, doesn’t he make you hungry for a nice big chocolately marshmallowey smore? Me too. Or I suppose it could be that I’ve just been eating plain brown rice for too long.
One more, just for giggles:
Sing it with me:
“I’m a little Nut-HatCH, short AND stout, HeRe is My HanDle, heRe is mY sPouT!”
{15 Comments}
I love these glimpses of spring, Leanne. The squirrel, too, even if he is naughty! :sing:
I am soooo glad it is almost spring!! Found you via Shelli
Mary
Don’t you just love it when spring start arriving? In my nook of the woods, the black squirrels are really really aggressive and have been known to chase people. Its the grey and red squirrels that are cute and adorable!!
i saw a baby squirrel yesterday. i had no idea they had their litters already, but i guess the nice weather here brought them out early.
Omg, when I first glanced at the picture of the squirrel, I thought he was hanging from a bug zapper!
I need some more coffee! Great pictures :yes:
Cute critters…even the bad squirrel!! 😉 I love spring… :cheerful:
I can’t wait for SPRING! Canada has notoriously loooooong winters which I am not very fond of. :grumpy: Thanks for the preview, Leanne. :thanku:
That’s the first time I have seen a black squirrel! I didn’t know there was such a thing. 🙂
Aw, I love juncos. We have them by the million up here in Massachusetts – they go crazy for the feeders before/during/after a snowstorm. They’re such a cute handful of birdie.
But I have never in my life seen a black squirrel. neat. and he sounds just as scavengerish as the lovely grey.
Shows what I know…I thought it was a bug zapper too! I gave you a shout out in my T13 today….just came by to tip my hat and tell you how awesome you are…everybody needs a little love some days! Bowing to your brilliance oh brown rice queen! :thanku:
:jawdrop: I have NEVER seen a black squirrel! Too Cool! Thanks for the awesome shot…
LMAO!!! OMG, I’m going to have to share that Nuthatch “Song” with my bird nerd friends.
Aren’t Juncos gorgeous? Next time you’re outside, try to pay attention to their song. They sound like a sewing machine, I kid you not.
WOW! Black squirrels… how cool! We have just the usual kind and even they have been scare since the hawk episode, I hope they’re still around but maybe just down the street aways. 🙁
Chickadee – THANK YOU thank you thank you for mentioning my little ditty! I was starting to feel silly for singing out loud like that. :slaphappy:
I had forgotten that black squirrels are still mainly around my area. I was told at one point that they were bred here locally and got loose, or something. I don’t know how true it is, but that so many of you had never seen one before makes me think there’s a shred of truth to the old story!
If it makes any of you feel better, I woke up to 2 inches of snow today. :bawling:
Greetings from another squirrel-lover! :wave: Here in the South Bay/Silicon Valley area of Northern California, we have a large population of Eastern Gray Squirrels. I’m sure we have our own native Western Grays too, but I don’t see them much in urban areas, and my large townhouse complex definitely only has Eastern Grays.
At any rate, I’ve noticed that the few BLACK squirrels around here are often more aggressive toward their fellow squirrels than the grays are. They’re also more skittish around humans and totally avoid contact with humans (versus the grays, two of whom have even become my friends). A black squirrel even had the nerve to squawk at me for no reason, whereas no gray has ever done so. :shocked:
I’ve asked many people if they’ve noticed any personality and/or temperament differences in black squirrels (some folks in my complex, and some in other cities completely). Interestingly enough, I’d say about 90% of everyone said the SAME things about black squirrels as I have!! I know the black (or “melanistic”) fur coloring is caused by a genetic mutation, but I’m puzzled about how that may affect personality/temperament. Perhaps the gene that codes for coat color also codes for this?
Anyway, I’m rambling. It’s time for me to get some sleep. I’ll check back here in a few days. Good night all and have a great weekend! :lazy:
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