Has anyone else got non-hibernating gray squirrels this year?

Normally I can feed the birds at this time of year without the feeders
being raided
Elizabeth in Renfrewshire, Scotland.
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"Elizabeth" wrote in message
...
Has anyone else got non-hibernating gray squirrels this year?

Normally I can feed the birds at this time of year without the feeders
being raided
Elizabeth in Renfrewshire, Scotland.
Removex to reply

Yes I have down here in Kent, Elizabeth. One persistant little b*****d who
runs off as soon as I get my air rifle cocked!!

I read somewhere that the grey squirrel doesn't hibernate

Clive in Kent

On Tue, 8 Jan 2008 12:14:21 -0000, "Clive in Kent"
wrote:


"Elizabeth" wrote in message
.. .
Has anyone else got non-hibernating gray squirrels this year?

Normally I can feed the birds at this time of year without the feeders
being raided
Elizabeth in Renfrewshire, Scotland.
Removex to reply

Yes I have down here in Kent, Elizabeth. One persistant little b*****d who
runs off as soon as I get my air rifle cocked!!

I read somewhere that the grey squirrel doesn't hibernate

Clive in Kent


I don't think they hibernate at all. Our Garden in the south is full
of them all year round, and at the moment they are busy destroying all
the bird feeders. They are pests, but such cute pests!

Has anyone else got non-hibernating gray squirrels this year?

Normally I can feed the birds at this time of year without the feeders
being raided
Elizabeth in Renfrewshire, Scotland.
Removex to reply

Yes I have down here in Kent, Elizabeth. One persistant little b*****d who
runs off as soon as I get my air rifle cocked!!

I read somewhere that the grey squirrel doesn't hibernate

Clive in Kent


I don't think they hibernate at all. Our Garden in the south is full
of them all year round, and at the moment they are busy destroying all
the bird feeders. They are pests, but such cute pests!



We have plenty here in Gloucestershire.

"Elizabeth" wrote in message
...
Has anyone else got non-hibernating gray squirrels this year?

Normally I can feed the birds at this time of year without the feeders
being raided
Elizabeth in Renfrewshire, Scotland.
Removex to reply


I have 3 squirrels. I put a handful of peanuts out for them every day and
the squirrel that spots them first, eats a few and buries the rest.

mark

"Elizabeth" wrote in message
...
Has anyone else got non-hibernating gray squirrels this year?


Everybody within the grey squirrel's range has non-hibernating grey
squirrels, because they do not hibernate.

I don't think they hibernate at all. Our Garden in the south is full
of them all year round, and at the moment they are busy destroying all
the bird feeders. They are pests, but such cute pests!

The one which can be heard scratching somewhere within the ceiling voids
of this house is certainly very busy if he's hibernating! How the
bugger gets in we just can't work out!

Eddy.

"BAC" wrote in message
...

"Elizabeth" wrote in message
...
Has anyone else got non-hibernating gray squirrels this year?


Everybody within the grey squirrel's range has non-hibernating grey
squirrels, because they do not hibernate.


I wish everyone who has a gray squirrel would get rid of them, I live in
Formby, one of the last few places where our native Red lives, and is being
kept from the imported American Grey http://tinyurl.com/2fmhte

"Sheila" wrote in message
.uk...

"BAC" wrote in message
...

"Elizabeth" wrote in message
...
Has anyone else got non-hibernating gray squirrels this year?


Everybody within the grey squirrel's range has non-hibernating grey
squirrels, because they do not hibernate.


I wish everyone who has a gray squirrel would get rid of them, I live in
Formby, one of the last few places where our native Red lives, and is
being kept from the imported American Grey http://tinyurl.com/2fmhte



It isn't necessary to kill all grey squirrels everywhere in the UK just to
keep them out of Formby.

Fuschia wrote:

On Tue, 8 Jan 2008 12:14:21 -0000, "Clive in Kent"
wrote:


"Elizabeth" wrote in message
.. .
Has anyone else got non-hibernating gray squirrels this year?

Normally I can feed the birds at this time of year without the feeders
being raided
Elizabeth in Renfrewshire, Scotland.
Removex to reply

Yes I have down here in Kent, Elizabeth. One persistant little b*****d who
runs off as soon as I get my air rifle cocked!!

I read somewhere that the grey squirrel doesn't hibernate

Clive in Kent


I don't think they hibernate at all. Our Garden in the south is full
of them all year round, and at the moment they are busy destroying all
the bird feeders. They are pests, but such cute pests!

Spend rather more on an all metal peanut feeder! We've had ours 4 or 5
years and the squirrels have, so far, only managed to remove some paint
from the base and slightly bend the wire mesh (heavier duty wire and
spot welded at each crossing so the little b*&^rs can't pull them
apart).
--
Larry Stoter

Malcolm writes


It isn't necessary to kill all grey squirrels everywhere in the UK just to
keep them out of Formby.


Wrong. It is vital, not just necessary, to kill grey squirrels anywhere
where they are putting our increasingly endangered red squirrel
populations at risk, including many areas in Scotland.

I doubt whether killing greys in the middle of Leeds is going to do much
to help reds in Scotland, or even in Cumbria.

And if you are in an urban area, you are grateful for any wildlife you
can see, even the introduced variety.
--
Kay

"Malcolm" wrote in message
...

In article , BAC
writes

"Sheila" wrote in message
. co.uk...

"BAC" wrote in message
...

"Elizabeth" wrote in message
...
Has anyone else got non-hibernating gray squirrels this year?


Everybody within the grey squirrel's range has non-hibernating grey
squirrels, because they do not hibernate.


I wish everyone who has a gray squirrel would get rid of them, I live in
Formby, one of the last few places where our native Red lives, and is
being kept from the imported American Grey http://tinyurl.com/2fmhte



It isn't necessary to kill all grey squirrels everywhere in the UK just to
keep them out of Formby.


Wrong. It is vital, not just necessary, to kill grey squirrels anywhere
where they are putting our increasingly endangered red squirrel
populations at risk, including many areas in Scotland.


Whilst I may accept it could be expedient to eliminate grey squirrels
"anywhere where they are putting ... red squirrel populations at risk", say
by maintaining a grey free 'cordon sanitaire' around the red squirrel
enclave, that policy doesn't need to be extended to 'everywhere in the UK',
since there are few red squirrel populations left at risk in the UK. Most of
England and Wales, for instance, has no red squirrel populations, and
killing grey squirrels in Kent, say, would make absolutely no difference to
the survival prospects of remnant red squirrel populations such as those
hanging on in locations like Formby, parts of Scotland, Anglesey, or the
Isle of Wight. Hence my statement 'It isn't necessary to kill all grey
squirrels everywhere in the UK just to keep them out of Formby' is not
"Wrong", on the contrary, it is true and accurate.

"Malcolm" wrote in message
...

In article , BAC
writes

"Malcolm" wrote in message
...

In article , BAC
writes

"Sheila" wrote in message
r.co.uk...

"BAC" wrote in message
...

"Elizabeth" wrote in message
...
Has anyone else got non-hibernating gray squirrels this year?


Everybody within the grey squirrel's range has non-hibernating grey
squirrels, because they do not hibernate.


I wish everyone who has a gray squirrel would get rid of them, I live
in
Formby, one of the last few places where our native Red lives, and is
being kept from the imported American Grey http://tinyurl.com/2fmhte



It isn't necessary to kill all grey squirrels everywhere in the UK just
to
keep them out of Formby.


Wrong. It is vital, not just necessary, to kill grey squirrels anywhere
where they are putting our increasingly endangered red squirrel
populations at risk, including many areas in Scotland.


Whilst I may accept it could be expedient to eliminate grey squirrels
"anywhere where they are putting ... red squirrel populations at risk",
say
by maintaining a grey free 'cordon sanitaire' around the red squirrel
enclave, that policy doesn't need to be extended to 'everywhere in the
UK',
since there are few red squirrel populations left at risk in the UK. Most
of
England and Wales, for instance, has no red squirrel populations, and
killing grey squirrels in Kent, say, would make absolutely no difference
to
the survival prospects of remnant red squirrel populations such as those
hanging on in locations like Formby, parts of Scotland, Anglesey, or the
Isle of Wight. Hence my statement 'It isn't necessary to kill all grey
squirrels everywhere in the UK just to keep them out of Formby' is not
"Wrong", on the contrary, it is true and accurate.

My "wrong" was in response to your "just to keep them out of Formby". I
was pointing out, as you accept, that there are other, arguably far more
important areas, like those parts of Scotland holding the vast majority of
our dwindling population of red squirrels, where it is equally important
(= vital) to do so.



I was of course responding in the context of the OP's wish that 'everyone'
should get rid of grey squirrels to preserve the Formby reds.

" I was of course responding in the context of the OP's wish that
'everyone'
should get rid of grey squirrels to preserve the Formby reds.


I didn't actually say that, just that Formby was one of the few areas left!
The native red is an endangered species in the UK, whilst the grey
flourishes, on the back of the red, being larger, and clears out the reds
food first. Also, they pass on a disease which decimates the red's also.
Living with these squirrels naturally makes me want to eliminate the big bad
grey! wouldn't it be nicer for us to have the native species back again,
throughout the country, there are enough greys in the US!

"Sheila" wrote in message
.uk...

" I was of course responding in the context of the OP's wish that
'everyone'
should get rid of grey squirrels to preserve the Formby reds.


I didn't actually say that,

Well, that's the way I read what you posted ...

just that Formby was one of the few areas left!
The native red is an endangered species in the UK, whilst the grey
flourishes, on the back of the red, being larger, and clears out the reds
food first. Also, they pass on a disease which decimates the red's also.
Living with these squirrels naturally makes me want to eliminate the big
bad grey! wouldn't it be nicer for us to have the native species back
again, throughout the country, there are enough greys in the US!


Judging by grey squirrels' success here, our islands seem to provide an
almost ideal habitat for them, and they have been naturalised and
flourishing here for a considerable time. There are now so many of them, so
widely distributed, that it would be impractical to eliminate all the grey
squirrels from the UK, especially as there would probably be a backlash from
people who are happy enough with the grey squirrels they have been 'living
with' for decades, and who have probably only ever seen a red squirrel in
Beatrix Potter illustrations. Better to concentrate efforts on trying to
preserve the remaining red 'strongholds', IMO, than to wage a fruitless
campaign against greys in general.

Fair enough, there are plenty of grey squirrels in the USA - but you could
say there are enough 'reds' in Europe and Asia, too.