I think they are very cute, but say that to my aunt or to anyone from England and they will tell you they are rats with a furry tail. I kind of get that, as this is how I feel about pigeons. To me they are rats with wings.

The English love to feed their birds and every garden seems to have bird feeders which they fill with fat balls and every kind of seed imaginable. Someone is profiting from their interest.

My Aunt has a bird feeder filled with fat balls. Tiny birds such as red robins, finches and blue tits come and feed – they are wonderful to watch and quite tame. They only problem is that the squirrels adore fat balls too. Two tiny squirrels who we nicknamed “the terrible twins” were growing very fat as they had figured how how to get into the bird feeder – when there is a free feed on offer they are determined and persistent.

The feeder is supposedly squirrel proof, but the makers of this one have never met our twin baby squirrels. They get into this feeder with remarkable ease. My Uncle devised a shield from an old flower pot which he attached below the feeder to stop the squirrels – or so we thought. At first we watched them try to jump to the feeder from the walls and edge of the house – and then they chomped right through the plastic flower pot making a hole large enough for them to climb through. They were most entertaining.

We were determined to thwart their efforts. We covered the pot with duct tape as a temporary measure and then visited every garden centre in town looking for a squirrel proof screen. We found a laminated shield that was too small – they would just jump over it, a metal pot – too heavy and everyone we spoke to showed us the feeder we had and assured us it was squirrel proof – it’s not.

Much to our surprise and delight we have discovered the squirrels and duct tape don’t get along too well and they have given up. The top of the pot is now covered in duct tape – it is not ascetically pleasing, but who cares. Gold to the Condie’s!