Despite All My Rage...

...I'm Still Just a Squirrel in a Cage.

I got my fugitive squirrel that has been breaking into my bedroom. I found him in the live trap as soon as I got home from work. The ample supply of bait had been licked clean and since I wasn't certain how long it had been in there, I fed it some peanut butter and gave it some water. I had a momentary lapse of judgment as it was eating the peanut butter and bread I held up to the cage, thinking "It's so cute, maybe it could be a pet", then I came to my senses--see, even birdchicks have moments of insanity. Then it was off to an undisclosed location with an ample supply of mixed nuts.

I did a phone interview and was asked one of the best questions: If I were in the woods looking at a good bird and Bill Clinton walked by, which would I be more interested in, Bill Clinton or the bird? My response? Depends on the bird. Actually, truth be told I would probably try and engage Former President Clinton and show him how cool the bird was.

Cinnamon is still improving her birding skills. Maybe she can lead bird trips with me one day. By the way, if you don't own a copy of Photographic Guide to North American Raptors, you need to get that into your birding library ASAP. Cinnamon is reading (and chinning, a thing rabbits do when they are announcing their ownership of an object) my fifth copy. I always end up giving mine away to a needy birder.

Critter Update

Cinnamon is recovering nicely. She has decided to take this time off to catch up on some reading and study up on these things called raptors. Fore warned is fore armed. Can't blame her for her choice of authors, Brian K. Wheeler is one of the best.

I have brought home a live trap from the store and will try to get one of the squirrels making its way into the bedroom. I have decided on the option of relocating the squirrel to a mammal friendly area and will supply it with an ample scoop of Squirrel Munchies when I make the deposit.

The landscape guys mowed the marsh behind the mall where the bird store is located. At first I was a little ticked but when I saw the finished result I wondered if this new maintenance plan could increase my chances of getting eastern bluebirds to nest next year. He was kind enough to mow carefully around all of our bird houses that we had set up behind the store, which I though was really nice of him. I was also grateful that the mowing took place late enough in the season to avoid destroying any of our blue-winged teal nests. I took a walk around the perimeter and noticed there was a rough patch that looked half mowed. A trail jutted off to the right and I followed it. At the very end was some type of hornet/wasp nest on the ground. It was one of those large papery looking gray things that are about the size of a bowling ball. Hornets/wasps were still all about it and I realized that was probably the reason for the uneven mowing. Poor guy, hope he didn't get hurt.

On a more upbeat note, I did have a slight increase in bird activity at the store feeders. Some juvenile red-winged blackbirds were about as well as a song sparrow (pictured, right). I was crouched in some vegetation today and tried practicing my injured rabbit call again--this time as soon as I did it, I heard a cloud of bird burst in the air, seconds later the immature Cooper's hawk flew right over my head and into the brush, causing another cloud of birds to burst up. It was so cool! I can't wait for hawk trapping this fall.

Short Report

Last night before Non Birding Bill's show THAC0 opened he called to tell me that he had a standing room only audience--I'm so proud him!

I was checking the website of a training studio down the street and came across a Those Darn Squirrels. I'm not sure what surprised me more, someone trying to make a little extra income of off squirrel photos or that I found this as a link on a personal trainer's website. Although, now that I think about it, that would be a great training studio to have: the squirrel workout. You could have giant trees that you swing from, lifting acorn weights, climbing an insane obstacle course with a giant bird feeder at top. It would be really cool if there was a people sized Yankee Flipper that would fling you around when you got on it. Sweet.

A Dilly of a Pickle

Today was a full day of errands. I had KARE 11 this morning, a few things to straighten out at the bird store, worked with Stan Tekiela (pictured right) on our 2007 bird calendars (can I say how weird it is to be working calendars for 2007 when it's only 2005? IT'S WEIRD! Thanks) and got groceries. After Stan and I got as much work done as we could on the 2007 calendars we sat down and autographed some of the 2006 calendars. Incidentally, if anyone would like to purchase an autographed Minnesota, Wisconsin or Michigan bird calendar, give us a call at the bird store (952-473-4283) and we will ship them out. Stan's photos are worth the price of the calendars alone, my part in the project are all the bird attracting tips, trivia, birding festivals and an average expected bird list for each month (the list was Non Birding Bill's idea).

I came home hoping to relax but find myself in a dilly of a pickle. A squirrel had landed on my window ledge and unable to gain access to the bounty of sunflower chips in my feeder, decided to invade my bedroom where I store my seed in a plastic container. Said squirrel chewed its way in (see damage above) and peed all over the window. There are now large holes in the screen and I really don't know what to do. Part of the problem is that the catalpa tree outside the bedroom window is in dire need of a trim but who knows if the apartment building will be doing that this year. I have holes in my screens which need to be repaired and I will have to do so on the sly. If I ask building maintenance to take care of it they will probably just tell me to quit feeding birds, which would mean we would have to move and I hate moving. Besides, we just painted last summer and we have a divinely deep old bathtub that I cherish after long bird trips in the winter.

On a side note, as I'm typing this there is the baldest cardinal I have ever seen feeding on the feeder right now. I would take a picture, but at 8:50pm it's just too dark. Oh man, he really looks like Zippy the Pinhead...oops, I digress.

So, I'm not sure how to deal with the squirrel. It just got plain cocky today. As I was picking up after its mess it was spying on me (pictured above). Isn't that a frightening photo? I feel very Single White Female all of a sudden. Will Non Birding Bill come home one day to find me tied to a chair with this little critter at my feet dressed like me wielding a kitchen knife? We have some live traps at the store for when squirrels find their way in and hope to live off the back room. I have mixed feelings about the live trapping thing, I don't like killing an animal that is just trying to make it's way in the world, but by the same token if a squirrel were trying to move into any other animal's home that was bigger than it, that animal would kill it and eat it. I know there's the option of relocating a squirrel (which isn't a permanent solution to keeping squirrels out of your yard, as soon as one is taken out another moves in, I'm hoping in my case the new guy won't know how to get in my apartment) but putting a squirrel in unfamiliar territory can be a death sentence as there may not be enough food and shelter for extra squirrels so the relocated squirrels has to fight for territory and avoid predators in an unfamiliar territory, that seems unfair. However, I do know of a couple of places that willingly feed squirrels...would city squirrels survive in the country?

The squirrel is getting entirely too freaky, something will have to be done. When you look at the photo below, imagine Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lector saying, "You feed black oil sunflower mixed lightly with safflower and the occasional cashew...but not today."

Desperate Birding

Last night Non Birding Bill and I headed to Fringeville for some relaxation and socialization after his show. We parked in the ramp next to Calhoun Square and as we were walking into the mall I realized I was hearing bird chirps and it was about 9:30pm. I soon discovered a barn swallow nest and marveled at the birds' ability to nest there. How do they sleep, the lights are on all night long and cars drive right underneath the nest at a constant pace. The anthropomorphic side of me wanted to say, "Dudes, you're going to be migrating within about thirty days, get some sleep!"

There is still a tremendous lull in the bird activity behind the bird store. This is not to say that we don't have any birds at all, we do have a handful of goldfinches (that's one feeding on our upside down finch feeder at right), one lone song sparrow and three families of Canada geese, but I'm beginning to miss those rowdy red-winged black birds. I know there are scores of customers who would love to loan me some of theirs but I know soon more birds will move into our area just not soon enough. This seasonal movement stuff is for the birds. We've done everything we can to keep the birds around such as keeping the feeders clean and providing the best bird food (what better food could you get than straight from a bird store) but I really do think the heavy duty landscaping caused the birds to move on. Am I sounding like a desperate woman yet?

Bunny Buttheadery

Cinnamon is not liking her medicine and his putting Non Birding Bill through the ringer. Today at work I was incredibly lonely forgetting how much I talk to her when it's just us in the store. When you talk to your pet you're not so crazy, but if the pet isn't there you are just plain talking to yourself.

Meanwhile, Cinnamon has taken to sitting under my computer desk at home, periodically nudging my foot. She knows this is not an appropriate bunny hiding spot, but I'm a little lenient right now feeling bad over her injury. So far she has left the wires alone but found my pile of birding periodicals that I'm currently using and storing under the desk for easy access quite fascinating and fun to chew on. If she's not careful I may reconsider my stand on wearing fur as a fashion accessory.

Non Birding Bill is getting no end of amusement saying, "Oh my, look at that dust bunny under your desk!" Har har, sad rabbit owner humor. I decided to move away some of the more important periodicals (what would be said if it were known a rabbit was chewing on a Wilson Bulletin?). However, bunny mischief still ensued as she found my ABA Membership Booklet and started thrashing it around and chewing it. Apparently, she disapproves of the ABA now. I think Cinnamon's plan is to be as much of a butthead at home in the hopes that we will take her back to the bird store. I argue that if she is well enough to hop around near the desk and chew my favorite reading materials than she is well enough to work, however NBB feels very strongly that we should follow the vet's instructions to the letter. Her cut is looking better, but she still looks weird missing a huge chunk of fur on her hind end.

A Proud Wife

Last night I saw the debut of Non Birding Bill's play THAC0 which he wrote, directed and had a bit part in. My dear husband loves to play role playing games and much the way many of our fathers had poker nights he and his buddies have role playing afternoons. He wrote a show with several inside jokes regarding Dungeons and Dragons that I didn't quite get...kind of like the time I told him my phalarope funny (If Wilson's phalarope is the species where the female is prettier than the male and the male does all the rearing of the chicks does that mean red-necked phalaropes are found near trailer parks and the males back hand the females demanding more beer?) and for some reason he didn't get it.

Anyway, the audience was almost sold out and was wise to the ins and outs of Dungeons and Dragons and laughed uproariously. Even though I didn't not get all the jokes, I was just beaming with pride at watching my husband in action, he's got great timing and if you think I'm biased I have proof. Local comedic legend Ari Hoptman leaned over and said, "You are married to a very funny man." Well duh!

Anyway, Bill got a five out of five star audience review and I'm so proud of my non birding husband.

Maximum Rabbit Disapproval

A bath and a trip to the vet.

Cinnamon of Wild Bird Store and Disapproving Rabbit fame will be on sick leave for the next week due to a long cut that looks WAY grosser than it is. She was acting strange Wednesday night, I had a dickens of a time getting her to go into her carrier when it was time to leave the bird store. At one point she hid in a new spot that I couldn't find her for half an hour and panicked a bit. When I got her home she was incredibly agitated, but since she was eating and pooping and hopping normally Non Birding Bill and I attributed the bahavior to a strong storm coming in. Friday night NBB was giving her a bath when he found the cut along the lower end of her right hind quarters. We took her to the emergency vet (because rabbit medical issues never happen during normal vet business hours) and discovered that Bill knew one of the vets who greeted us.

Laurie was very nice about not making us feel guilty for not noticing cut sooner. Rabbits are masters of hiding injury since that serves as a sign to predators that they are ripe for the picking. Plus, Cinnamon was eating, pooping and hopping normally since having the injury and those are the signs you watch for. The main vet that took care of us was a rabbit expert and didn't hesitate to remind us that Cinnamon is a little overweight and how we should manage that better. We were all surprised at the length of the cut but relieved that it wasn't deeper. It had already started to heal so stitches were not necessary however Cinnamon is not allowed to go to the store for a week, must be out on limited supervised excercises, get medicine force fed twice a day and a bath once a day--all her least favorite things in life and probably the reason why she was hiding her injury. I really wish she had just come up to me at some point and said, "I say, mumsy, I have a minor flesh wound here, would you care to escort me to the veternarian in the swiftest manner possible?" Alas.

My guess is that she got the cut while I was trying to corral her into her carrier Wednesday night. The mat in her carrier didn't have much blood inside when I checked it after visisting the vet and there wouldn't have been since it wasn't very deep. Sometimes the little bunny butthead likes to run through and climb over wooden bird feeders and bird houses and I wonder if in her running and climbing she scraped her hind end on one of the corners of the cedar houses or feeders. The vet shaved the area around the cut so now it looks really nasty. Hopefully, when she is allowed back to work in a week she won't look like her back end is zombified. I can't have the kids who come into the bird store see her and run up to her calling, "Look at the cute bunny!" and then cowering in disgust when the see her back end.

In the mean time when not being medicated or bathed, she will get a good week of spoiling and watching Matlock, CSI shows and Buffy the Vampire Slayer while eating carrot tops, fresh parsley, dried banana, cashews and fresh basil on the love sac. I love my little bunny butthead who thinks she can leap over a Peterson bluebird box in a single bound.

Yes! I Nailed A Cardinal

Finally! Got a photo of a cardinal feeding off my feeder. If there weren't so many leaves on the trees you'd be able to see the over-rated gourmet pizza place across the street from my building (Non Birding Bill would disagree with that statement, but what can I say, I'm a Galactic Pizza gal myself--it's pizza with a conscience). See, you can be anywhere and get cool birds to come to your feeder. Alas, this cardinal is mid molt at the moment so not the prettiest on the block, but in a month he will be as robustly red as the best of them. You know, this photo is incredibly funny if you imagine the voice of Cartman saying "Get away from me, you stupid little hippy."

Work for the Birdchick

I just realized I should take advantage of the free press from the Star Tribune article. I'm hiring, I have a part-time home delivery/sales associate position available at my store in Wayzata. If you like birds, like being outdoors, can drive, use a computer, lift 50 pounds and enjoy working with cool bird people (that's right, I said cool bird people, we do exist) call us at the All Seasons Wild Bird Store in Wayzata 952-473-4283.