A soused squirrel? Ted Kriefall wanted to know if his strange-behaving squirrels have been hitting the alcohol.
“We feed our birds almost exclusively black oil sunflower seed,” Kriefall said. “Several squirrels spend what seems to us an inordinate amount of time working over the emptied shell
s that fall from the feeders.
“More than once, a squirrel will act drunk after doing this. He leans to one side (and) sometimes falls over (where) he’ll spend some time licking himself. Another squirrel acts jittery, his tail sits on his back in an unnatural way, and he’ll jerk and act kind of spastic.”
The feeder is on an iron pole greased with WD-40.
“It’s very amusing to see them slide down the pole, unsuccessful. But when ‘drunken’… they jump at the pole and miss.”
So what’s that about?
Squirrels have been known to become inebriated on fermented fruit, from pumpkins (technically a fruit) to berries because a byproduct of fermentation is alcohol.
Usually it’s a bacteria, yeast, mold or an enzyme that causes fermentation. If only one squirrel appeared to be inebriated, I’d think it had a neurological problem, injury or illness.
But a pair of squirrels seems to toss out that explanation.
Seeds can ferment, too. Since the sunflower seeds and shells are on the ground, it’s possible that the squirrels can ingest bacteria or mold from the seeds that causes the behavior.
If anyone else has an explanation, feel free to contribute.
Wishful thinking? Recently Oak Creek Wildlife Area workers removed some elk carcasses and took them to the base of the rock bluffs.
There was a report of four golden and three bald eagles feasting on the carcasses, although another birder questioned the identification of golden eagles.
The wildlife area is home to golden eagles and the bluff near the elk feeding station is a popular hanging out place.
What’s happening at Nisqually? Lots of waterfowl, shorebirds and marsh birds are at the refuge these days. There are more than 60 species this time of year.
Available for sightings at the refuge are about 60 bird species: cinnamon and green-winged teals, cackling geese, gadwall, brant, horned and pied-bill grebes, surf scoter, yellow-rumped warbler, Northern harrier, American bittern, great egret and others.
Close to home: South county residents don’t have to travel far for good birding. A trip to the Edmonds waterfront and marsh is a sure thing for more species (43 in this case) than you might imagine.
An Edmonds birder looked around on a March morning. There were two rhinoceros auklets inside the marina, 15 Pacific loons north of the underwater park and a yellow-rumped warbler in the marsh.
Also sighted on the waterfront were brant, common and Barrow’s goldeneye, sanderling and a pigeon guillemot. In the marsh sightings: killdeer, bushtit, ruby-crowned kinglet, and fox and song sparrows.
Swallows are back: Earlier this week a Monroe resident saw a flock of violet-green and tree swallows, band-tailed pigeons in a courtship flight, and a flock of red crossbills. He’s had a singing American dipper at his ponds, too.
Year of the varied thrush: Have you noticed the plethora of varied thrushes this year? Many birders have. It’s one of those birds with an easily recognizable voice. Once you’ve heard it, you’ll forever recognize it.
Its song is similar to the sound of a metal whistle with different pitches. It’s striking in appearance, too: It has a black head with an orange stripe behind the eye and a black band across a rusty orange breast.
Columnist Sharon Wootton can be reached at 360-468-3964 or www.songandword.com.
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