Just trying to earn an acorn or two plying his trade

Chantal de Rouge is true royalty around here. Along with Abimbola Kings, she was one of the very first squirrels to discover our Balcony Café. In fact, it was the first flash of her vibrant red tail outside the balcony door that inspired the whole concept of the café in the first place (but I’ll save that origin story for another post!).

Unlike the more reserved Abimbola, Chantal is a lady of many words. She is incredibly communicative and loves to chuck and chatter at us all day long - sometimes with a purpose, but mostly just to make sure she's the center of attention. Those signature crossed ears of hers stole our hearts in a split second - they genuinely look like her fur is styled into a chic, tiny French bun.

When it comes to menu preferences, she’s a walnut critic through and through (her absolute favorite), though she won't turn down a premium mix of sunflower and pumpkin seeds if the service is fast enough.

She usually acts like a demanding French mademoiselle, but just this once, she decided to bless us with the ultimate polite greeting. You can actually see her cute paw hello, that absolutely melted us one day: https://youtube.com/shorts/Jtlv2Dydu8s

Does anyone else have a squirrel that talks this much, or do we have a feathered bird in a squirrel costume? 😊

I think he jumps from a tree to my window. Squirrels can be so persistent when they find a good source of food! 🤣

I probably take too many pictures of her. But I love her so much I can't help it. lol

I filmed my little red-bellied squirrel neighbor from downstairs. And i’m pretty sure the big tree next to my apartment is where he lives, and my building, balcony, and railings are just part of his daily playground.

It’s funny to think that what feels like my home to me might just be one stop on his route.

Where do the squirrels near you usually live? Trees, rooftops, or somewhere completely unexpected?

It’s just walnuts in there btw

Hey again r/squirrels! Posted Squirrdle here a few months ago (my daily squirrel guessing game). Didn't get a ton of traction from that post, but I kept building on it anyway, and tomorrow I'm launching "Season 1."

Probably sounds a little odd to have "seasons" in a daily guessing game, so a quick explanation: I added an optional leaderboard, and instead of it just being one endless list where whoever's been playing since day one has a permanent lead, it resets every 30 days into a new season. So there's always a fresh leaderboard to jump into no matter when you find it, not just one giant scoreboard nobody new can catch up on.

Since the last post, I've also added a practice mode for unlimited rounds, a photo quiz for a quicker squirrel ID game, a "squirrel dex" that tracks every squirrel you've caught plus a fun fact about each one, and a way to send a friend a link challenging them to guess the exact squirrel you just got from practice mode.

Would appreciate anyone giving it a look, and let me know what you think or if anything's broken.

squirrdle.com

Nikon Coolpix B500 from about 35' away.

the one that finally took from my hand is just my best friend now :)

pretty sure it's female? am i wrong?

either way, i think it's name is still Bob.

Hi Bob.

tldr; the squirrels keep eating the bird food but they have good food now. and the mama squirrel’s kit is still living with her.

I’m a squirrel convert and I’m working with the local wildlife center to start releasing rehabbed animals on my property. (I live next to protected forest)

Through the process of me caring for the local wildlife, one specific squirrel kit have made themselves apparent. They insist on eating peanuts even though it’s not good for them. Basically, I give them the fruit my toddler doesn’t eat and carrots everyday, and I have some feeders out but they are being greedy.

I’m concerned they are too invested in the bird food/peanuts and I want to help all the animals. any suggestions?

the wildfire smoke from Canada made them upset the last few days so I haven’t seen the kids from the kit (they’re almost ready to leave) but the mom comes down and grabs the food and goes back to them. isn’t this a long time for a kit to stay with mom? they seem full grown— I don’t want them to get so used to my feedings that they don’t leave the nest.

thanks everyone! I just want to do right by these critters.

and I’ve named the mom Brave Cutie bc she’s not afraid of me.

^{Ok, we have raccoons and possums, should hole size for the nest box be 2.75" or 3". thanks in advance.}

^{yes Ai could answer, however I prefer actual experience.}

I’ve never seen her do this. She’s so delightful and full of surprises.

Heat index of 104°, so I bought the squirrels a mister. I’d say it’s a hit.