Grey Squirrels........

they seem to be a tourist attraction here in chester, hundreds of them some so tame they get hand fed.

bit like UKIP

In the woodland where I live, I will see at least six every time I come and go.

There must be 100s of them in the trees, sitting on the fences and, for some reason, they like playing chicken
by running across the road, when a car approaches!

LFV - You have described the problem. There are too many in existing woodland preventing regeneration, and there are too many migrating to potential/older woodland preventing regeneration. It's what they do!

Yet another example of our open door policy on immigration that has gone wrong.

I don't mind them, but would do something to stop them going into areas where reds are. But areas that haven't reds for 100s of miles?
Don't really see that much of a problem. As long as they learn our language and don't join GreySIS.

I go to a beautiful sunlit glade in Golden acre park to feed dozens of em em by hand.

If red squirrels hadn't existed I doubt people would see any problem with them, they don't attack you or your dog or eat crops?

Saddo

I have the remaining three of this years young in my garden everyday. I am pretty sure they have emptied my pots of various bulbs this year I don't blame them TBH, it is my fault for not protecting the pots.

saddo....Golden Acre Park is indeed a beautiful place that I visited, just once, very many years ago.

Unfortunately I was out on business, and had a most urgent call of nature, so this was the only place nearby
to find cover, where this could be addressed with reasonable dignity!

It is a fine place and a couple of miles further drops you into Wharfedale.I try and do Almscliffe Crag -near Dickinson's old yard- after the park. Golden Acre has an interesting history and was built as a theme park originally. The war ruined that plan.


https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8791/17581962814_7586b56409_b.jpg

I take Muttley to the one of the three parks near me two or three a day on average and have done for all of his 6 years of age. Not once have I ever seen a red squirrel in all that time.

From the Red Squirrel website......

"Grey Control - Why Should Grey Squirrels be Controlled?

Red Squirrels are the ONLY native squirrel living in the UK. Grey Squirrels are a non-native species introduced into the UK 120 years ago but unfortunately red and grey squirrels cannot live side by side. When grey squirrels enter a red squirrel area, the red squirrels will die out if there is no intervention to remove greys.

Grey squirrels carry the squirrel pox virus which is harmless to them but causes death in red squirrels usually within 2 weeks. Grey squirrels out-compete red squirrels for food, eating approximately 6-8 times as much as the reds, and the presence of grey squirrels within a red squirrel area will cause red squirrels to stop breeding.

Grey Squirrels also eat birds’ eggs and chicks, raid crops and destroy trees through bark-stripping. Grey squirrels will inhabit lofts and roof spaces and can cause untold damage, including causing fires by chewing through wires."

Don't think that this will be a license to go out and buy an air rifle and start blasting away at them.

The do-gooders and the court room happy RSPCA will soon have you facing a hefty fine if you don't kill them cleanly with a single shot to the bonce.
And that isn't easy unless you are a good shot and catch one keeping still.

Only bird I see round here is the Chukar partridge    lol

oh hang on, a squirrel's not a bird!

Shame, it was a good joke.

they are nearly as pesky as magpies a cull of both would be a step in the right direction for all other birdlife

Jan 19, 2018 -- 6:28AM, Dr Crippen wrote:

Don't think that this will be a license to go out and buy an air rifle and start blasting away at them.The do-gooders and the court room happy RSPCA will soon have you facing a hefty fine if you don't kill them cleanly with a single shot to the bonce.And that isn't easy unless you are a good shot and catch one keeping still.

from what i have read, shooting them is one of the few legal ways of killing grey squirrels

Early days yet but it looks like the reintroduction of the native pine marten is have a big effect in reducing grey squirrels in Ireland and parts of Wales. Red squirrels are then re-populating the areas left by the fleeing greys.Greys being larger and slower than the reds are easy pickings for the pine marten which was largely wiped out in England by gamekeepers.

On the FT circuit through the woods there were loads of greys.

Also, on the half acre plinking range, they would invade when nobody was around, and raid the food for the birds, in the dispensers,
and what had fallen onto the bird table.

Despite that, the club rules were that they were not to be killed, though I have to admit to taking out a few, early morning, when nobody was around!

Magpies were a bonus!!

Did you make sure they were dead, Lady F?

They're a nuisance if you have bird feeders.

So are wood pigeons but I let them be. Biggest nuisance here by far is a sparrow hawk.

Wood pigeons and squirrels eat much of the food I put out. I just put out more when they have had their fill.
The robin seems to know my habits and is usually waiting in the hedge for me to put out the suet and the mealworms every morning. The blackbirds aren't far behind. The ones I scare off are magpies and crows, they are able to fend for themselves without help from me.

It's a bit like the badger argument. I'm sure that if farmers were killing them for meat there wouldn't be such uproar.

the red squirell's have buggered off to Liverpool .


there is a woodland full of red squirell's  just north-west of  the city

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=red+squirrels+liverpool&source=lnms&tbm=is...

Jan 21, 2018 -- 11:07AM, Coachbuster wrote:

the red squirell's have buggered off to Liverpool . there is a woodland full of red squirell's  just north-west of  the city

That's good to know Buster.

it certainly is eric  ...   there is hope 

Nearly seven years ago:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/earthnews/7898494/Hundreds-face-fines-for-killing-squirrels.html

Or eight years.

''But it is generally accepted that a blow to the back of the head or shooting is legal as the animal dies quickly. The Forestry Commission and other groups recommend catching the animal in a sack before delivering a single blow to the head. An air rifle can also be used as long as the user is properly qualified. Free shooting of squirrels is also generally accepted as long as the person has a licence and can guarantee a clean kill.

''However the Royal Society for the Protection of Animals argue that most people will be incapable of killing a squirrel without causing “unnecessary suffering” and will therefore be in breach of the law.''

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/wildlife/8331195/What-is-the-law-on-killing-squirrels.html

If you're going to shoot squirrels in your garden, best keep it to yourself or you might find yourself in court.

What is "FT" in "on the FT circuit"?
"Fallots Tetralogy"?

Whats the law on strangling a sparrow hawk Dr Crippen? I came close to catching the bugger last week, inches away. He perched nearby and glared at me, then attacked again 5 minutes later.

Magpies are  brutal *******  seems they have scared off every type of bird around  .

Pigeons and crows normally are the ones making a bee line for the feed  ...occasionally blackbirds will come in for a feed  ...and don't mention seagulls in the summer

We have a pair of mistle thrushes and in a few weeks they will start attacking every magpie crossing their airspace. Fearless things, the blackbirds stand aside when the thrushes come to dine.

time to hire a mistle thrush

Look at the highest tree nearby, you might see one swaying around waiting for a maggie. They attack from above with great noise.

reds & greys are on our bird feeder every day. they seem to get along ok

Not seen mistle thrushes do it but I've seen birds mob a buzzard, quite funny, this great big huge bird with little birds (of different species, combined into one mighty force) chasing it away, like it was some despicable late night pizza thief eying the four cheese deep pan they had in their nest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guDzj6cYHMI