She stopped by again with her muddy little face 🫶

Rudy enjoys my backyard bird feeder a little too much

There is an old tree in my backyard and I set up a bird feeder on it a few months ago. I used to love watching different kinds of birds come and sing. It was beautiful. However, after some time, I had noticed that there was a lack of small birds, so I went to investigate.

When I reached the tree, I noticed that a grey squirrel had made a nest inside it and at first I was okay with it because hey, I like squirrels too.

However, it soon turned into a nuisance. The squirrel had babies about 12 days ago and now they keep chittering all night long. It also became extremely protective and tries to attack me whenever I go near the tree.

So I had enough. Yesterday, I armed myself with a broom and stormed the tree. I sprayed it with water and shooed it away with the broom as it tried to fight me. Finally, it ran away.

I have let my dog out in the yard to prevent it from returning. However, its babies are still in the tree since yesterday and they keep on chittering and screaming. I dont want to raise them.

What should I do?

He hasn't moved in a while and just keeps making this noise over and over.

Help! I don’t know what to do! I quickly read through the infographics, but I’m still not clear on what to do.

A baby squirrel fell maybe twenty five feet down from the oak tree nest. It was moving its legs but it can’t get up. We don’t have dogs. We’re not mowing the lawn, but there’s a neighborhood cat. The squirrel has been there for maybe 25 minutes to 45 minutes. Do I leave it there and see if it’s mom or dad can get it up and going, do I put it in a shoebox?

Any guidance I can get would be great. I’m dealing with a sick three year-old and trying to work from home at the same time as I do not have time to takeoff and get everything sorted out, including my own toddler!

Location: Howard County, MD

Edit for spelling and added location detail.

Update: got it into a shoebox with a cozy blankie (toddler was NOT happy even though she’s never used the blankie). It curled right up in a ball, so hopefully its back isn’t broken? Found a rehabber and going to take it there as soon as I negotiate leave from work. Thank you everyone for all the support. I know my family thinks I have a bleeding heart for lost causes, but I love our squirrel families so much. I needed like-minded Redditors for that extra push and confidence 💜

I have never heard them make this noise

She looks bold in this video but she’s so sweet

This rescue prairie dog (a type of ground squirrel) mimes grabbing a snack and holding it to her mouth and eating when she asks her owner for a snack. Constantine Slobodchikoff at Northern Arizona University did a lot of work on translating how prairie dogs communicate within their communities, and was able to identify different sounds for different colors, shapes, animals, and more - which he showed were being strung together into simple sentences to describe and communicate events. His team did that by wearing different colors, carrying different shapes, etc, while walking through a community. This rescued pet's owners don't speak prairie dog, so she has learned to mime to try to communicate with them. I think Slobodchikoff is retired now, but below are videos describing the research and the language he and his team found.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLxAS4URhOE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZllWiKKPHk

Such a vibe from this cutie. I interrupted his meal but he let me watch.

My presence made him tense up a bit initially until he relaxed and let his inner goofball take over!

Thankfully she's understanding about me feeding other squirrels. lol

She is now officially unstoppable and will stare at that cup until you give her another 😂

It’s safe to say it’s mostly squirrels now ❤️🐿️

I understand if this post gets taken down, but it's been on my mind.

Late last night I woke up and was looking at this sub (or the other main squirrel sub). Someone had posted the most disgusting post I had ever seen. They mentioned a neighbor feeding squirrels and they were upset and so they were ending the squirrels and came here for suggestions on that.

I'm glad the mods took that down. I couldn't believe someone could do such a thing. I know we believe that we own our homes, but didn't the wildlife live here before that.

I now slightly understand the warning I received on this sub and elsewhere that feeding squirrels by hand could be bad for them as it may inadvertently make them trust the wrong people.

I would like to mount one or two nesting boxes in our backyard. Do you have any suggestions? If you could put the Amazon link in your response, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.

Almost every evening I sit with my squirrel buds and feed them/ watch over them. Now that it’s getting dark earlier they’re going to bed earlier, but not angy 😂 she stays much longer than everyone else so I have to stay and watch for the foxes

i just got home and heard some screaming, and apparently there is a hurt juvenile squirrel in my yard. (i’m not sure if that is the correct descriptor; he’s small, but he has all of his hair). one of his hind legs has a laceration but i don’t think it’s broken, and he seems lethargic. i currently have him wrapped up in a towel with a warmed up sock filled with rice, and have contacted a local rehabber but have not been responded to. what should my next steps be?

edit: thank you guys so much for your help! i checked our parks and wildlife page and am bringing him to a licensed rehabber right now! 🧡

edit pt 2: squirrel successfully dropped off! thanks again for all of your help.

I am available for squirrel rescue from ground to Grey I am Tammy Gaunt at [tgsquirrel0850@gmail.com](mailto:tgsquirrel0850@gmail.com) contact anytime, plains MT area