Is it OK to feed my little garden squirrel?

Hello Tracy and welcome to the community forum. It is nice to hear that you enjoy feeding your garden birds and your squirrel visitor and can understand how important watching and feeding wildlife is to you when you have health issues and are not so mobile anymore. You are perfectly entitled to enjoy your hobby and continue to feed your garden birds and squirrel unless there are specific rules in place (if you are renting). The only problem would be if by feeding birds in particular that they become a nuisance to neighbours and that would have to involve health hazzards or noise factor, etc., where the council could impose restrictions. To be honest, I wouldn't worry about the chap that works for pest control, there are a lot of people who do not like birds (especially pigeons) or grey squirrels but whilst Hamish is in your garden I would just enjoy watching him and the birds come for food treats and try not worry too much. Squirrels are quite territorial and especially if there is a food source they will chase other squirrels away. As you say, wildlife can be comical to watch and you will get many happy hours viewing from your window. So, my advice, feed your birds and your squirrel and continue to enjoy their visits. It sounds to me as if you are a considerate person, wanting to do the right thing and a thoughtful neighbour as it's always good to maintain a good relationship with your local neighbourhood; it is good that you have like-minded neghbours who also enjoy wildife and if you have any worries I am sure they will listen and advise you. Good luck.

Hello Tracy. If I were you I would continue to enjoy feeding your garden visitors; especially since you say your other neighbours also feed them. I'm sorry you feel uncomfortable about your neighbour's son, the pest controller. If he works for an entirely different council there is no reason to suppose he would try to harm your "Hamish", at least not in a professional capacity. Enjoy your critters. :)

Hello Tracy, and welcome also from me to the community. I am pleased that you have found a new hobby and are really enjoying it too. It is lovely to watch the birds and other wildlife. You certainly will have plenty to see, if you keep feeding the birds and wee Hamish. He seems a feisty little thing and if he is being fed he will keep coming back and I am sure that the neighbour will not be too bothered, although as Hazel has said, it is good to keep a good relationship with them. Maybe you could explain to him and his son next time you see them, that you have Hamish visit and the birds and it is giving you much enjoyment. Enjoy your new hobby.

By the way you have done very well to post and add pictures to this new updated fourum, many of us are still struggling with the updates!

Thank you so much for your kindness in taking the time to reply to my post. It means a lot to me. Thank you

Thanks so much for your reply. I had to chuckle at the word "Critters!" which is what I often call them. And first thing in the morning they are all watching and waiting for me to get up and feed them, especially the pigeons. I have grown quite fond of them too. I was initially going to stop feeling the pigeons but they tugged at my heart strings sitting up there on the porch gazing in expectantly! So I eventually gave in! However I try to limit their feeding till early morning and early afternoon to make sure they eat their food. They are very peaceful and happily feed alongside each other. They aren't too fussy and so I keep the less expensive bird seed for them and buy a big tub. They are very smart and know me when I go into the garden and hop around my wheelchair but they panic when anyone else is approaching. Funny thing though, yesterday afternoon I was wearing my tinted glasses so I could see them as part of my illness I can get light sensitivity. They all freaked out when they saw me watching them at my window with my glasses on. Unbelievable! I thought "surely not!" so I took the glasses off to see if I was imagining things - sure enough they all came back and they were quite comfortable with me sitting there watching them pecking away. Amazing!!! I do laugh when they all arrive. I have 4 feeders on the pole. One for peanuts two with mostly sunflower hearts which all the finches and blue tits love! And a huge polomint shaped suet feeder which the starlings go nuts for! It's good because it holds at least 12 suet balls and it's hilarious to see them all clinging on and often one perched in the hole in the middle frantically pecking as it burls round and round. It always makes me laugh. It's good because everything gets fed and it really is "Feeding time at the zoo!!!" first thing in the morning especially. It's a very satisfying and rewarding hobby. And reasonably low maintenance apart from cleaning the feeders, grrrrr but it's worth it.

Ps thanks for welcoming me to the community! It's a joy to be part of something wonderful and interesting. I look forward to interacting when I am able,

You are welcome Tracy; I'm glad you get so much enjoyment from your garden visitors. I have some extremely tame female blackbirds who line up on the fence waiting for their breakfast of sultanas. They definitely know me & I feel privileged that they trust me enough to come so close. I do spend quite a bit on bird food, but don't tell the ole fella hee hee. :)

Many thanks for the kind words Dave.

Anna B, thanks for sharing your thoughts. That's brilliant about the blackbirds waiting to be fed. Gosh, yes it is such an amazing privilege to have wildlife come so close and it's so exciting and enjoyable to watch and enjoy the little critters! You sound like me, I live alone but I admit I spend quite a bit on the birds and squirrels. I realise that I now have two little squirrels. One has bravely sneaked back, its a young squirrel but it's absolutely terrified of Hamish who is still holding the Fort. He is a bit of a bully boy! The little one I think is a young male, I've just given it a name. I've called it "Nutmeg" it seems to be starving and desperate compared to Hamish. and
 Today I caught it going up the pole to the bird feeders! I didn't chase it, I wouldn't frighten them or the birds but I have put some vegetable oil on part of the pole just in the middle of it. Hopefully it will stop the little beggar stealing birdie food! I had a huge raven up on the tree just there eating a suet block I hung up yesterday. It was amazing to see it so close up. It was absolutely huge and very beautiful. It was lovely to see it wiping it's beak clean on the branches after it's dinner. I especially love the little gold finches. They are have such beautiful colours. They are very bright. They have a very relaxed manner whilst eating. They enjoy the sunflower hearts. They group round together for ages eating whereas the other small birds tend to swoop in and take a pick and fly off to the bushes and trees and go back and forth. The goldfinches perch for ages eating their little hearts out they seem very relaxed and don't startle like the other birds do. In fact often if the other birds, especially pigeons get a fright and set every bird flying off the goldfinches will look to see if is a genuine threat and much of the time they carry on feeding without panicking in the slightest. I don't know about you but I adore the little blue tits. See the way they move their sweet little heads around. They are so cute! The little markings and colours on their faces. What kind of bird food do you buy Anna? See I need to find a half decent bird seed to scatter, because the pigeons now wait for me, they have me fully wrapped round their little beaks!!! 

Hi Tracy, you sound as if you have a lovely selection of visitors. I've only seen a squirrel in my garden once or twice, but have a great variation of birds at different times. I like the goldfinches also; they've really increased in numbers in the last few years I've noticed. I've tried all kinds of bird food but now I mainly put sunflower hearts out ( a big bag from B&M works out economically for me), I also put some fat balls, or more recently fat candles (I think that's what they're called) and a bit of Robin food, which has dried insects in it.
When the birds are nesting I buy live mealworms & put a few out to help the parents feed their young. Mind you, once the news is out that mealworms are on the menu all the birds in the neighbourhood are lining up to get some. They are expensive, so I have to be a bit mean with them, but all in all I don't think any birds in my garden ever go hungry!
I love Bluetits as well & we have nestbox camera, but that can be quite traumatic to watch as things don't always go to plan in nature & we've had some disastrous years with no fledglings. We've also had up to 12 fledglings some years though, so it's just pot luck how things go, it would seem.
I think pigeons will eat pretty much anything, at least they seem to do so in my garden, I don't think they're too fussy to be honest. :)