We call them Grey squirrels here, not black, though likely they are the same as yours.
We also have the smaller, and far chattier red squirrels, deeper in forest areas.
Have not seen in person, but have previously seen pictures of the grey ones, on those swirling squirrel guards. Yikes!
Once had a feeder suspended from out far across a lone tree branch, attached by a wire, to detract the squirrels,
but those acrobats could get out to the wire, using the thin branch as a balance beam,
and then they could slide themselves carefully down it, grab hold of the feeder, and eat their fill, while hanging from any claw.
However, we noticed that they couldn't successfully climb back UP it. without sliding


so they were then forced to leap off and twist their bodies in mid-air, reaching, groping, and hoping to find something to grab onto, but ending up safely landing on the ground, with an uncharacteristically ungraceful thump.

Sometimes, just a short time later, the same one was ready to go back the same route, for another feed !
Now raccoons, I wouldn't even try to outsmart one of
them!
They come complete with every tool they could possibly use, for untying any knot that humans have devised, and for disassembling any human contraption/invention!
