@Embers it would be an interesting encounter. i just interrupted a raccoon under the bird feeders. i bring them in at night, so he can't pull them down. as it is, he digs up the mulch around there looking for seeds the squirrels missed, and, i suppose, the grubs and such living there too.

@holon42 I put out dry cat food for the ferals and other critters so they don't bother much with the bird feeders. Have 2 mama raccoons bringing their babies to eat just now, one has 4 babies, the other has 5. Sooo cute!! Hopefully will get video of them playing to upload. 🙂

@Embers i try not to encourage raccoons since they can decide to set up house in attics, etc, so i am nervous about them becoming habituated. i'd love to though, they are so cute. cleaning up around the feeders keeps it clear so rats won't get attracted. my garden is rewilding so there's a lot of high growth, and i have to be careful.

@holon42 That's a really lovely garden space! Raccoons den in the easement the flood control creek runs through behind my house, only had one injured one hide in one of our sheds. We took it to a rehabber.

@Embers yes, i get raccoons here regularly to clean up under the bird feeders. good, no food left to attract 🐀 rats 🐀😱

@holon42 We had a horrendous rat problem for about two years then a new batch of feral cats started hanging around the yard that were much better hunters...thank gawd! Had to replace the wiring harnesses in 3 of our cars thanks to rat damage!

@Embers oh yikes, not good. i switched bird food because sparrows threw so much they didn't like on the ground that i noticed rats digging in. now it's just black oil sunflower seed and shelled peanuts in the feeders, and millet on the ground for Doves and Sparrows. the squirrels and chipmunks gather what falls as the birds eat, as do the Doves, and later the raccoons and occasionally a skunk, clean up the rest overnight.🤗

@holon42 Awww I miss the skunks. They've gone MIA for the last 2 years. It's weird because we used to have several that would come through the yard, sometimes fight viciously and create a foul miasma that lasted quite a while or, even worse, discharge their scent gland directly outside one of our foundation vents and skunk the interior of the house, usually the bedroom, but their babies were so cute! Really don't know why they've disappeared 😕

@Embers i like skunks too, but haven't seen, or smelled, one since that week. even the raccoons have been scarce this week. perhaps the squirrels and chipmunks are clearing the ground very efficiently.

@Embers so the feral cats solved the rat problem? i did see a neighbour's cat with a rat in its mouth during that time. this year, no sightings so far.

@holon42 They absolutely did! A couple of them were superb predators! Unfortunately the girl Tuxie whose kittens we socialized/found homes for then trapped, spayed, chipped, & vaccinated, who was the best ratter has now disappeared 😪 We hope she just found a different backyard where people were putting out food for strays as she was getting attacked by one of her kittens that we missed that had grown bigger than her and was super territorial but we'll never know and are sad about it.

@Embers that's too bad🥺feral cats have a tough life.

@holon42 They do. Had her daughter not been such a brat am sure she'd still be enjoying the relative safety and regular food provided by our backyard. 😢