Earth Almanac: January/February 2008

Pesky Pranksters

Americans are conflicted about gray squirrels, commonly applying to them such adjectives as “cute,” “perky,”  “pesky,”  “noisy,”  “greedy,” and, in rural areas, “delicious.” Now through the central and eastern states (their native range) and much of the West (where they’ve been intro-

duced), these prankish marauders are shoring up their winter “dreys,” or nests, which are better insulated than the ones they build in summer. In suburbia, to which the species has adapted so well, dreys are frequently constructed with such material as attic insulation. Although gray squirrels don’t hibernate, they take to their dreys in periods of extreme cold. Breeding activity starts in midwinter with chattering males chasing females on the ground and around tree trunks. The old saw that there is no such thing as a squirrel-proof bird feeder (at least one without screening) has finally been put to rest with the Yankee Flipper, a cylindrical device with a metal, battery-charged base that spins with the weight of a squirrel, flipping it onto the ground. Look for “squirrel angels” in the snow.

Eating Upside Down

If you see one pine siskin, you’re apt to see more—lots more. Especially in winters when hemlock, alder, birch, spruce, and cedar seeds are scarce in the boreal forests of Canada and the northern states, these delicate little finches settle like wet snow into backyards and woodlots as far south as Florida and Baja California. Often they travel with their close relatives, the goldfinches, which they resemble bothphysically and in their strong, swift, undulating flight. 

The name siskin derives from the sound of the call notes, which, when flocks are large, can fill the air with a hum easily confused with gasoline-powered machinery. Like chickadees and titmice, foraging siskins frequently hang upside down, especially when gleaning seeds of conifers. 

Because they spend much of their lives in the unpeopled North Woods, they evince little fear of humans. In Birds of Massachusetts, ornithologist Edward Forbush documented the experience related to him in 1926 (along with photographic documentation) by one E.R. Davis of Leominister, Massachusetts. Davis liked to sleep in on winter mornings, and whenever he had neglected to fill the feeder the pine siskins showed their displeasure by flying in the open window and hopping about on the bed near his face. “If he simulated sleep and their dish of seeds was covered,” wrote Forbush, “some of them pulled his hair, and if he then showed no signs of animation, they seemed to brace backward and pull harder. They have been known even to tweak his ears and nose. Finally when he opened his eyes and uncovered the food dish, they hopped upon it and began to eat. One morning Mr. Davis covered his head, leaving only a small hole through which to observe the birds. At first his feathered visitors were at a loss, but finally one discovered the peep-

hole and reaching in began tapping his friend on the forehead. When Mr. Davis finally turned and reached for the food dish, one bird rode over to it on his hand.”