Corn, Crows and Squirrels

During the day, the crows and squirrels raid our deer feeder and have quite a feast.  I have erased thousands of pictures of crows and squirrels from our wildlife camera.  It is really interesting to see how they react with each other. Here are some pictures of them.

 

Sometimes a squirrel will try to chase a crow away from the feeder.  The crow will fly a few feet away and then slowly walk back toward the feeder.   But, they have no need to worry. Tom is faithful to keep plenty of corn on hand and sometimes refills the feeder twice a day.  So, there is plenty to go around!



Today, I noticed something a little bizarre about some of the corn kernels on the ground around the feeder.  In the picture below, notice the 3 kernels on the left.

They have the germ part eaten out of them.  I feel certain the squirrels are the ones responsible for this.  They are the only ones in my mind that would be able to hold the kernel of corn still enough to nibble the germ out of it.  I'm assuming that, to squirrels anyway, the germ of the corn kernel is the most desirable part, sort of like the icing on a cupcake.   And maybe it has certain nutrients that the squirrels need as winter approaches.

No matter the reason, this just pointed out to me that we can learn something everyday just by taking notice of the small things around us.  We only need to take time out of our busy lives to "smell the roses", or in this case, "notice the corn on the gound".