Hummingbirds and Squirrels (1 Viewer)

I've read that Squirrels like to eat bird eggs, including Hummingbird eggs. For the last several years, I've only been able to attract maybe 4-6 Hummingbirds to my feeders on a regular basis. We had a very high Squirrel population. However, in the last couple of years, we've had a couple of Redtail Hawks, an Owl, a family of Foxes and a Falcon of some kind who have been doing a pretty good job of decimating the Squirrel population. Is this likely to improve my Hummingbird population? Has anyone had any experience with this?

Don't know if the decline in squirrel population will increase your visits, but I have found having both nectar producing plants and feeders increase my hummingbird visits to my yard. I have lots of squirrels in my yard due to having several seed feeders and leaving at the base of a mountain range, but the hummingbirds as well as other birds don't seem to be bothered by them. It would be interesting to know how much of a squirrels diet consist of bird eggs and in particular hummingbird eggs.

Backyard Sanctuary said:

......................... It would be interesting to know how much of a squirrels diet consist of bird eggs and in particular hummingbird eggs.

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Don't know of any specific studies, but I've read articles talking about seeing squirrels eating road-kill and other forms of animal protein. Most of what I've seen suggests that squirrels are far more carnivorous than most people realize and bird eggs seem to be just one part of their protein diet.

But, I guess that's just part of the balance of nature.

Backyard Sanctuary said:

Don't know if the decline in squirrel population will increase your visits, but I have found having both nectar producing plants and feeders increase my hummingbird visits to my yard. I have lots of squirrels in my yard due to having several seed feeders and leaving at the base of a mountain range, but the hummingbirds as well as other birds don't seem to be bothered by them. It would be interesting to know how much of a squirrels diet consist of bird eggs and in particular hummingbird eggs.

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I have a lot of squirrels in my yard as well, most likely because it is surrounded by trees and is an open area. However, I haven't really seen much of a difference as far as attracting humming birds goes. As mentioned above, having nectar producing plants and feeds should help tremendously.

Would love to hear though if squirrels really are affecting the population of hummingbird in your area. Keep us posted.