No, not a squirrel which are sometimes tagged with the derogatory moniker "Tree Rat", but a real Tree Rat (Rattus rattus) trying to pretend its a squirrel as I get within inches of it. "Just stay cool and peanut man will think I'm a young squirrel" , but the tail and huge ears give it away. They are smart creatures and I have never seen one in daylight at a feeder until this one. They are tasty morsels for the nesting screech owls. I occasionally hear from people who get rats at their bird feeders and it is usually a case of overfeeding and letting excess food like seed and outdoor pet food etc hang around. I generally only feed the squirrels a small amount of food at a time so they do not have food just waiting for them, but this little rat was smart enough to join their morning feeding and the squirrels tolerated it. Rats are OK out in the wild where they belong and are eaten by other animals, but not around the house.
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