Squirrels Quickly Adjusting to the New Feeders

Part of our previously mentioned squirrel research in Maine Fish and Wildlife class involves RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) readers that will be fitted to feeders all over campus and in nearby neighborhoods to monitor the travels of our collared squirrels. Each collar houses a microchip that the readers will be able to sense and record when the squirrels pay a visit. This data will help to unlock the mysteries of our squirrels' home ranges and the distances they are willing to travel to a known food source. While my lab aide, Sam, is hard at work programming our readers, I figured it would be a good idea to set up a few feeders around campus to get our squirrels acclimated to using this new style of food delivery. Last year's feeder can be seen in previous posts and requires a squirrel to lift a lid to get at a mixture of corn and sunflower seeds. This year's data collection hinges on the squirrel's collar getting within an inch or two of the RFID reader which presented a unique challenge. How do we force the squirrel to put its face near our electronics AND how do we keep those electronics safe from the nasty weather conditions so often experienced during a Maine winter?

Enter the new jar-style feeders. Their simple design forces a squirrel to stick its head inside the waterproof housing then reach into the jar to get at the food reward. Ideally, during one of their multiple entries into the feeder their chip will get close enough to the reader to be picked up. The housing itself is made of a composite deck post and the removable lid will provide a convenient way for students to get at the reader and swap out the batteries and SD cards where our data will be stored. The jar is a simple wide mouth canning jar capable of housing a few days worth of food.

A close up of our new feeder. There are several now deployed around campus.

While the design of these feeders seems perfect for what we are trying to accomplish, there was one major question left to be answered. Will the squirrels be able to use them? After deploying a few feeders with my wildlife classes last week, we set up a game camera on one of them near where we had collared several squirrels this fall. Over the weekend, we got our answer. Within 24 hours there were squirrels investigating the feeder and shortly there after, jackpot, squirrels successfully getting at the food. There are now several "pros" out there who are quite adept at utilizing this style feeder. This includes at least one collared individual. It wont be long for the rest of our population to solve the corn riddle either. 

A collared squirrel visits a new jar feeder in the T.A. Forest. 

We are hopeful that the bugs will soon be ironed our of our electronics and we can begin to equip our feeders with RFID readers. Stay tuned for further developments!

Trapping Complete, Time for Monitoring

We have now wrapped up our trapping efforts for the fall of 2016 and are working to begin monitoring the movements of our newly collared squirrels through the upcoming winter. In all, we placed collars on eight squirrels, two on campus and six in the woodlot adjacent to the Eastern Trail. The two campus squirrels have been highly visible and can often be seen utilizing our new jar style feeder in front of the latin building. The six collared along the Eastern Trail have not been as conspicuous to the casual observer but have been showing up on the game camera on a regular basis.

A collared squirrel utilizes the Eastern Trail feeder earlier this week.

In the coming weeks, we will be working to equip up to ten feeders with RFID readers. This sensing equipment will be designed to pick up on the presence of a microchip in each squirrel's collar. When a squirrel reaches in to the feeder to grab some corn, the date, time, and chip number will be recorded. Hopefully, this will help to shed some light on the movements of our squirrels between campus and nearby neighborhoods over the winter. As with any new technology implementation, there will undoubtedly be some unforeseen hurdles to overcome. This process of brainstorming solutions to problems is great for kids and a lifelong skill that will serve them well beyond their high school squirrel researching days. 

On a related note, we have had other visitors at the Eastern Trail feeder since it has been loaded with corn and sunflower seeds. Songbirds, mice, flying squirrels, and a raccoon have all been observed on the feeder over the past week. 

A raccoon helps itself to a squirrel food "treat" on Halloween.