This was a first for me. A gray squirrel eating a bird--head was gone already, but the color and relatively longish wings looked like a nuthatch. This was a major meal, feathers and all! It sat up nibbling it just as it would an acorn, periodically flicking its tail to chase away the flies. There were only a few scattered feathers when the job was done. On a happier note, we have watched an incredible array of babies being fed in the last couple of weeks--at least two broods of orioles, red-bellied woodpeckers, blue jays, nuthatches, chickadees, wrens(who are already working another nest), house finches and chipping sparrows. The phoebe is sitting on the nest, so they will soon join in.
Jan Wicklund
