Raccoon - what do I do?

[Aromig]

Yikes.

Several years ago someone on here swore it was simple, a squirrel is always going to run to the nearest tree. Maybe so, and maybe that's helpful in California, but in the eastern US, it's going to take me longer to figure out which of the 200 trees within 20 feet of the squirrel is the nearest, than it is to just frickin' stop and let the squirrel go where it wants.

Yesterday I had a squirrel try to race me along a fenceline. That little sucker kept up for a good 50 yards, and passed SEVERAL trees growing along the fenceline while doing it. It was a pretty anxious few seconds, as I waited for him to dart up in front of me because I just KNEW that is what he was going to do! The friend riding with me was laughing (likely because I was between him and the squirrel so he didn't think he was in mortal danger) that the squirrel was actually keeping up with us for so long.

Sorry about your birds -- that's awful.