John's story came at the perfect time. We have a covered front porch and a few times Robins have built a nest in the beams just above the front door. As far as I know, Crows have always gotten the newly fledged young, even though I have tried to stop them. Last night, the first robin left the nest, which left 2 still in it. I was so relieved that there were no crows around and thought that this may actually be a successful year for them. Then, first thing this morning, I walked out the front door to hear a lot of loud scrabbling right over my head and it was a Douglas Squirrel not 2 feet from the nest, directly over the door clinging to the stucco! I have never seen this native squirrel ON the house or even close to the house before and because I did not know that they eat baby birds, could not figure out what the heck he was doing up there! The birds were not in the nest and I don't know whether the remainder of them fledged before the squirrel got there or if he had already taken them away one by one. It's so disheartening to watch so many failed robin's nests year after year when others, like Juncos and Chickadees, which are many times right out in the open, are trouble free. Thanks John for solving this squirrel-on-the-house mystery for me.

Dayna Yalowicki
Bothell, 98021

Buy Free Range