In Northumberland, little bugger got into the verge before we realised what it was though.

first ever grey?? millions of the chaps around here, i’ve got 2 that like to play outside my office door, cheeky scamps 🙂

are you sure you don’t mean your first “red” squirrel? Grey’s are as common as rats round here.

Really? 1st one of these?

Are there fewer of them up North?

They just appeared in montrose this last week apparently, so they maybe aren’t everywhere yet.

First Red no way.

Northumberland is one of the last refuges and east Northumberland especially, we have Reds but Greys have been sneaking in. This one was young and in an area I’ve previously seen Reds.

This is what I’m use to seeing.

Red Squirrel by Lee Collis, on Flickr

conversely, i’ve never seen a red in england, only in france.

IMG_6732.jpg by Ewan Panter, on Flickr

Look at his little hands!

Look..no hands.

Yep – I saw my first grey up around Whinlatter the other week. I called these chaps

Don’t fret, I’ve seen plenty of grey vermin.

Seen a few Greys around the Lakes and Cumbria before, I reported to RSST before I posted on here.

I saw a Silver Fox this morning.. in my own bathroom..!

I must either stop looking in the mirror or invest in some Just For Men..

Best let these guys know:

http://northernredsquirrels.org.uk/sighting.htm

(edit – good lad, you’ve already told them)

Now, unlock the cabinet, and Lock and Load! 😈

I know that they are bad for the red squirrel population but why? If they are more destructive at nut gathering etc., then why is it just the reds that are most affected and not other nut gathering species (or are they)? Or is it a disease thing.

Yes, could google it I suppose.

apparentyly they are more cleverer and will steal red squirrels nut stashes so the poor little ginger ones wont have any food left. im sure theres other reasons too but i remember that from tv the other day

Now, unlock the cabinet, and Lock and Load!

I sold my guns or I’d be considering that option.

That’s a different one to I reported to so think I’ll do that one too.

In the trees around our work building there is a family of black squirrels! Wondered what the hell it was, first time I saw one.

apparentyly they are more cleverer and will steal red squirrels nut stashes so the poor little ginger ones wont have any food left. im sure theres other reasons too but i remember that from tv the other day

I think it’s something to do with oil reserves and forceably introducing capitalism and christianity..

Nooooo – sold your gun’s? how could you, with a revolution just ’round the corner 😀

Greys out compete the reds for food, they;re bigger and more aggresive. They also carry a disease which is fatal to the red squirels. – At least the ones in England do, the Greys in central scotland don’t have the lurgy.

The greys carry some kind of pox that doesn’t affect them but is fatal for red squirrels. They’re also a bit craftier and steal the reds’ food.

There’s a *theory* kicking about that greys don’t establish wherever there’s pine martens about because they’re easier prey than the reds. Interesting idea, but difficult to prove in practice.

The greys carry a virus that wipes out the reds. They seem to be a lot better at being squirrels as well I always used to see loads of greys in say Ecclessal woods in Sheffield but see next to no reds either in Northumberland or Sweden.

How far North are you, Drac? We see more greys than red in Tynedale.

I seen it near Alnmouth, yeah aware western Northumberland has had a problem with increasing Grey and hence why these groups were set up.

theres a few reds round my mums just north of alnwick, no greys, yet, although I fear its just a matter of time

Positive discrimination towards gingers – wonders will never cease 😉

As well as the virus, and being a bit brighter, their main advantage is that Greys can eat seeds and nuts before they’re ripe enough for the Reds to eat. They win all round basically…

Parapox, the virus that kills red squirrels is more common in cattle than it is in Greys. And recently reds have been turning up in labs with signs of infection and recovery anyway. Greys will outcompete Reds because they’re less fussy about what they eat, where they live, and they have more and stronger babies.

The real killer of Reds is us. They’re very very selective about where they live and what they eat, and we’ve been very busy cutting down their habitat for the last god knows how long, but then Greys don’t have very good lawyers so their look out…

From the BASC:

Methods of Control
Drey Poking

At different times of the year the control of squirrels can take different forms. With the leaf off the trees, winter is a good time for shooting.

Drey poking can be effective, especially on cold winter days,. A team of four, with two working the poles and two covering the tree can spend a day clearing a lot of dreys in a wood. When all the dreys are cleared from a wood in winter it becomes easy to spot i new ones made in the summer.
There are a few rules you must adhere to when carrying out this activity. Safety is paramount; guns should stand well back from the tree. When using the poles tap the bottom of the drey gently, this will allow the squirrel to run out slowly, it will probably stop just outside which will give the guns time to shoot. Never shoot at a squirrel running down a tree, it is better to either let it run down and run away from you or stop it and turn it back up the tree. Remember you are aiming to cull squirrels, so be efficient and effective.

Never shoot at a squirrel running down a tree

may become my new mantra

Remember you are aiming to cull squirrels, so be efficient and effective.

Massive. Waste. Of. Time…

CTBM should have that as a sticker.

[edit – never shoot a squirrel running down a tree]

[double edit – Massive. Waste. Of. Time. works well too]

Mate of mine seen one in Morpeth a few weeks ago. I am fairly sure he reported it.

Evolution in action, we should just let the grays win. Or arm the reds with minimums and screen the resulting carnage on ch. 5 🙂

Just about guaranteed to see Red’s when your going round Dalbeattie. Not many grey’s in that area at all.

Now Pine martins are a lot rarer. Only ever seen one and that was up at Rothiemurchas.

I can’t recall ever seeing a red, only treys here

stevious – Member

There’s a *theory* kicking about that greys don’t establish wherever there’s pine martens about because they’re easier prey than the reds. Interesting idea, but difficult to prove in practice.

That doesn’t really make sense because the martens would just move into the area with ‘easier’ prey, given no barrier.

stucol – Member

Now Pine martins are a lot rarer. Only ever seen one and that was up at Rothiemurchas.

I am fairly certain I saw one near the beach in Swansea. I had a very good view of it. The only reason that I’m not 100% certain is that we are not supposed to have pine martens here….

That’s a different one to I reported to so think I’ll do that one too.

I’m interested how you know it’s a different one Drac. Different haircut? Or are you going off it’s little clothes?

I can’t ever remember seeing a red 🙁

I’m interested how you know it’s a different one Drac. Different haircut? Or are you going off it’s little clothes?

Different nuts.