Mystery of The Disappearing Seeds - Part I

Okay - we do feed our birds. In the morning we fill a smallish hanging feeder with black-oil sunflower seeds that the birds like so much. The supply usually lasts a couple of days, however, recently the seeds began to disappear with unusual speed. 

The feeder is placed fairly high above the ground. It is tucked amongst the branches of a young pine tree so the visitors other than birds do not have access to it. 
I do not mean our human neighbours by that - there are others here too.
And SOMEONE is steeling the seeds! 

• the deer (ah yes, the flower-veggie-twig & bud-fruit-seed-loving whitetail deer. It will take care of any garden in no time.), 
• the elk (the bark stripping-tree pruning-heavy weight that will trample all your newly planted trees, bushes and plants), 
• the bear (the cunning-smooth-dexterous- inquisitive-vacuum cleaner that will eat anything that smells of food. So PLEASE clean up the garbage, pack away the used diapers and feminine hygiene products, hide the pet food, pick up the fruit and of course take away or secure your bird feeders. We do not need misunderstandings of any kind - and neither do the bears.)
• the raccoon, 
• the skunk,
• the squirrel
• the chipmunk
• and an army of mice and voles

They all seek seeds and, save the skunk, they are all very good at getting to them. Make no mistake - we love them all. Well ....


So here is the gallery of suspects figuring in our Mystery of The Disappearing Seeds. 
I have taken these mugshots over the years - most of them at or in a vicinity of our place.

Bambi and his darling Mother love to visit every night, and sometimes they come during the day.
The Father comes here on his own unless it is winter time. 
Then the entire extended family shows up!
When we see them we sigh: "ahhhh, look how cute they are!"
That lasts only until the next morning when we count the numbers of destroyed or missing plants.

Was it Bambi who stole the seeds? Hardly so -  though he could stand on his hind legs and try to reach the feeder. But we placed it way too high. Out of question!


Elk like to visit during their vertical migration in Spring and Fall. 
They might show up after sunset although their favourite time seems to be 11 p.m.
How do we know that they were here? I don't really want to get into that - it makes me nervous just to think about it!
(Once I counted 27 of them - the moon was full and they were not really afraid of a nightgown-clad monster who was pretending to be a pitbull. I cannot bark too well.)

This April we did not find the elk tracks in the yard - even so, an elk trying to reach the feeder would leave pretty deep marks in the soft ground and there are none. Doubtful!

The fattest bear that I have ever seen showed up in the yard just before his hibernation. 
He (it was a he for sure) looked as if he were going to collapse at the moment's notice. Didn't mind the lights and the camera flash. 
(I was well hidden behind the door). 

But as soon as I made slight noise he disappeared in the shadows; smoothly and quietly as if he never existed. 



As for the seeds, nobody in the village had seen the bear signs anywhere yet, he is probably still drowsy in his winter den. Besides - the branches are all intact. Innocent.

An ursine cousin, the raccoon, is just as dexterous as the bear. It can climb and squeeze into tight spaces and do many very smart things. 
This is a country guy - unlike his city relatives it will not parade boldly about the property. 
Still - sunflower seeds are sunflower seeds!
And, boy, can he ever climb!

Possible.

You already met Pepe, as we call this potent stinker, in one of my previous entries. Had to recycle - somehow I do not have too many skunk photos in my files.
He too comes snooping about (oh yes, we can tell when he is out there) and one night when the house lights came on we watched him munching the sunflower seeds that had fallen on the ground. 

We already knew that it was he, who made the lawn look as if someone emptied one of those crazy semi-automatics into the grass. 
For each night he (or she ?) digs out the big fat grubs that peacefully reside below the surface.



This is no seed thief - still asleep under someone's pile of lumber. Besides - I haven't heard of a climbing skunk yet. Absolved.

Looking at that unfortunate grub photo I now wonder what would ever become of it? 

A beetle? Another summer project ahead. For now it looks like a skunk-prawn to me.

This is Mathilde - the Grey Squirrel. 
(Grey or Gray - THAT is the question! Check your continent.)
We do not have many of those here so when she (oops, a he?) showed up we were kind of thrilled. 
I know - the nesting birds were not that happy, for the squirrels love to steal their eggs and hatchlings. But it was Autumn and the birds were packing up for their journeys. 
There was someone else however, who disapproved of Mathilde's presence: it was our hazelnut-raising neighbour. He and Mathilde both loved the nuts so one of them had to go. One day we saw him driving away with Mathilde in a cage. It had been relocated to the wilderness some 30 km away from here. And you know the price of gasoline!
True story. Great neighbour!

So Mathilde is gone and there are no replacements in the neighbourhood. No problem there.

Chipmunks and seeds go together like a hand and a glove. 
Could this little guy, already dressed like a convict, steel the April seeds?
We believe that in this part of the world he is still in his winter coma. Estivating as they say.
Impossible.



So who's done it?

Mice and Voles? At 4 meters above the ground? It is a slippery plastic-coated patio railing that they would have to climb. Good climbers as they are - hardly so. 
(Just realized - I have NO photos of mice. None! Bad! Bad! Bad! But I know who has - check him out.)

Conclusion of today's entry? We will have to redirect our search.

Even so; on this bleak, rainy, cold April day it was refreshing to recollect who shares this parcel of land with us. 
As for the disappearing seeds we already have a decent clue. Stay tuned.