Predatory Squirrels

It's good to have this glass door beside my bed. Most mornings I wake to the sound of the birdfeeder banging against the balcony bars. I let the blind up slowly so as not to frighten off the pair of blue tits who build their nest underneath, or the fat robin that's been hopping around lately, hoping to catch the bits of peanuts that fall down.

Most of the time, though, it's these squirrels, one gnawing at the plastic base of the feeder until there's a hole big enough for a nut to be extracted, one waiting his turn in the branches. They're only stopped from getting the whole cache at one go by the metal mesh I've had to put inside. They take very little notice of me, even when I rap on the door.

My dilemma is how to feed the small and needy while deterring the big, fat and more agile greedy. I wouldn't begrudge them, but I suspect they've got a heap of nuts hidden away somewhere.