No one who grew up in the Pioneer Valley will be surprised that this is a Hampshire College study. Hey, if you can design your own curriculum, why not robot squirrels?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080503/ap_on_sc/robotic_squirrel

( in case the story goes away, or you don't want to follow the link )

I forgot to post this last night. We heard our first oriole of the year! We couldn't see it, but the song was unmistakable. I think the same individuals claim the same territories around us. Orioles seem to each have different songs, and I'm pretty sure I recognized the melody of the one we heard last night. It's a nice feeling, like seeing a friend you haven't seen in months.