Made a New Friend

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Nutella the squirrel
Last November, my wife decided to take up bird watching as a hobby. We bought one of those bird feeders with a built-in camera, but due to the holidays and a lot of snow, I didn't get it all set up until February. Within 30 minutes of filling it with bird feed, we got our first customer.

Of course, it was a squirrel.

If you're going to feed the birds, then, by proxy, you're also feeding the squirrels, unless you take steps to try not to, which we didn't think was right. So in addition to the bird feed, we began to buy nuts as well.

Prior to COVID, I'd feed the squirrels in the park near my office every day, and I learned that they're smarter than you might realize. They recognize people, even by voice. One day, when feeding them at lunch, I ran out of nuts with one squirrel left. I made a quick mental note of some distinguishing characteristic to help me recognize that squirrel, and came back out later to try to find him/her. I walked all the way around the building with no luck. I stopped, turned around...and there was the squirrel, standing behind me. He/she had recognized me and...followed me, who knows how long, waiting for the nut I'd promised!

Here in the suburbs, the squirrels are less trusting of people. Not long after we started feeding the birds, I'd toss a few nuts to squirrels here and there, but didn't want to end up in the situation where I'd be mobbed by squirrels every day, so I stopped. But I did end up gaining the trust of one of them, pictured here. She approaches both myself and my wife when she sees us, often multiple times if we're outside long enough. If she sees us go inside the house, she'll wait by the door. My wife has named her "Nutella", though I would've gone with "Nutasha" if given the chance. We can tell her apart from the other squirrels not just by her behavior, but by her right ear, which is flat on the top for some reason. As fall has arrived and the weather's gotten cooler, she'll often quicky run to us when she sees us, collect a nut (my wife calls it the "squirrel tax"), run off and bury it, then return for another.

Nutella accepting a walnut

While I'd love to say that this little critter has some affection for us, I doubt it. But what I can say is that she's smart, she recognizes us (both as people and as people who will give her nuts), and she's trained us both well! I always have a nut handy when I take out the trash, leave for an appointment, or am outside for any other activity.


 

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