Cyril the Squirrel

Yes hes a super little guy isn't he!

 

You're so lucky having them in your garden! I have a few friends who have regular visitors, but they live out of town...

My parents have greys regularly in Edinburgh - and one regular albino too! He (she?) has been visiting for several years now!

 

Well done Gogs.

There are supposed to be reds near me (Cupar/Ladybank direction) but I've never seen any, only 'townie' greys in Glenrothes. :(

 

OMG!!!! A RED ONE!!!!! WOW!!!!! How lucky are you!!!?????!!!! I hope you have registered its details on the web site Roders put a link to.....

Being born and raised in Poole, we see then at Brownsea Island. They are so sweet, as a native species to the UK, it is very impotant we strive to save them. It is such a shame that the greys will attack and kill the reds if they come accross them.

 

I don't think the greys will attack and kill them. I think the greys can carry a disease that kills the reds - that is what wiped out more than 90% of the population of the reds. The greys have spread into the territory vacated by the reds and that is why the reds cannot expand back out again.
It would only be possible if we had a mass poisoning campaign against the greys.
Did anyone ever hear about the guy who reported to a local radio station in London some years ago that he had discovered a specie of nocturnal squirrel? He came across them in a London park, what he was doing there at night God knows, but these 'squirrels' became very tame. So tame in fact that they would climb up on his head and take food from his mouth. I think it was on a radio phone in programme. He then went on to say that these squirrels were unusual not only in being nocturnal but that they had bare tails. It was then gently put to him that he was having intimate contact with rats.

 

hehehe Geoff!

Just to clarify: The greys (introduced in late 1800s) are larger than the reds. They can eat seeds and nuts before they are ripe - unlike the reds, thus competing in an unfair battle for available food. The reds are pushed out by the greys.

Grey squirrels carry the squirrelpox virus - which rarely kills them - but is fatal for the reds.

 

Can't the greys eat acorns which the reds cannot? The greys can survive better in deciduous woodland, while the reds tend to run out of food in june. The reds seem to do best when they have conifer trees available.

 

ANY LAST REQUESTS????????

My good friend Gogs has allowed me to play around with her very special picture of Cyril.
Thanks Gogs x.

 

You put a rat in the picture!!!
You know very often the American versions of our wildlife are quite ugly.
Grey squirrels, well the photo says it all. The american badger looks like its been hit by a truck and the american robin is nothing to write home about.

 

Alas the Americans DO have humming birds - but then they make up for it by installing those horrible Disneytoon feeders for 'em

 

Like it roders, my dearest!

Don't know all things American, geoffhandley ... Britain has it's fair share of ugliness, and not just in wildlife.

I agree with the Disneytoon feeders, frogesque!

 

lovely pic G
r

 

I just saw one of "our" squirrels close up. It ran by the office window, only about 1 1/2 meters from me. I went into the livingroom and saw him then sitting on the little wall around the lower patio. Then he was off into the bushes and trees. It looked like he had a peanut in his mouth, I'd put some out when I saw him and his mate about a month ago.

 

Shame you didn't have the camera handy, K-G! You'll have to keep it near the computer.

 

Even if I did have my Handy handy (ha!), the squirrel was just too quick. Hubby said that he and the neighbour think that they have a nest about where I saw him disappear today. So, if that is so then we should see them more often now, hope so!