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Red Squirrel
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I have nothing but admiration for the resilience of this lad, since I took this photo and posted it last year, the farmer who owned the wood behind the fence cleared it with 2 diggers resulting in 4 terrified little reds taking up residence in our garden. I got the lads in the diggers to leave some trees standing behind my fence and got my neighbour to agree to leave them up.
They squrrels then moved into a pile of the felled trees while still coming to our feeders until the the trees were burnt:eek:, now they've moved a further field away, luckily owned by my mother and with lots of hazel trees which will never be cleared:D. They didn't come near the garden for months but one of them is back, it has to cover 100 metres of open field to get to our fence but it appears between 8 and 10 every morning despite a cloooose encounter with the neighbours cat!!
We've taken it for granted but we are so lucky to have it so close to the house. Photo taken in Craughwell, Co Galway0 -
Blue; That is just such a head wreckingly disgusting situation! :mad:
So, what; Ye had red's living in some trees behind ye. Yeah? Land owner wants the cash crop / land. Squirrels, known to be there get screwed.
Now they're holding out on another patch of land ~ ye mothers. Where they're safe. But, they're having to run the gauntlet, every day, to reach ye feeders ~ because there's obviously just not enough food for them on ye mothers patch.
And that damn cat Will get them. And the government body with 'responsibility' will intone that, yes; Sciurus vulgaris has edged yet another inch towards total extinction on this island. Jesus wept :rolleyes:
Listen; How about ye try to sort out some supplementary feeding station, for them, on ye mum's side? Save them running that gauntlet.
Where have they go to go, from the other sides of ye mum's ground? Is there anywhere else they can expand to, where they may be safe, if not Protected?
Why did the farmer clear the ground between ye mum's and yours? Fact that he ~appears to have ~ allowed some trees to stay, for the squirrels, shows he's not a complete " **** ".
Might it not be possible, if need be, to discuss with him the idea of arranging a single line / 'corridor' of small trees (Silver Birch, maybe? I'm no expert!) across his land. Tractor passing spot along the way. So's to allow the remaining pocket of squirrels to move from their harbourage, on ye mum's land, to your feeders?
How about call the " NPWS " ? Report back with what They suggest?
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Blue; That is just such a head wreckingly disgusting situation! :mad:
So, what; Ye had red's living in some trees behind ye. Yeah? Land owner wants the cash crop / land. Squirrels, known to be there get screwed.
Now they're holding out on another patch of land ~ ye mothers. Where they're safe. But, they're having to run the gauntlet, every day, to reach ye feeders ~ because there's obviously just not enough food for them on ye mothers patch.
And that damn cat Will get them. And the government body with 'responsibility' will intone that, yes; Sciurus vulgaris has edged yet another inch towards total extinction on this island. Jesus wept :rolleyes:
Listen; How about ye try to sort out some supplementary feeding station, for them, on ye mum's side? Save them running that gauntlet.
Where have they go to go, from the other sides of ye mum's ground? Is there anywhere else they can expand to, where they may be safe, if not Protected?
Why did the farmer clear the ground between ye mum's and yours? Fact that he ~appears to have ~ allowed some trees to stay, for the squirrels, shows he's not a complete " **** ".
Might it not be possible, if need be, to discuss with him the idea of arranging a single line / 'corridor' of small trees (Silver Birch, maybe? I'm no expert!) across his land. Tractor passing spot along the way. So's to allow the remaining pocket of squirrels to move from their harbourage, on ye mum's land, to your feeders?
How about call the " NPWS " ? Report back with what They suggest?
Right, let me fill you in on a few facts,
The farmer in question who is entitled to do what he pleaes with his property wasn't aware of the presence of reds on his land as he hadn't used it 8 years and he has left a tree line along the boundary wall which the red uses, in fact we've never seen it approach our fence from the field , just leaving.
My mother's land extends to over 40 acres of which I'd say a third is wooded, more of it resembles the Burren with limestone rocks over the ground, an attempt was made over 40 years ago to reclaim some of it but nature has taken it back. Its was used occasionally for cattle to graze but is probably too overgrown for that now, Shooting and foxhunting are not allowed on it.It has no road frontage, we're not from an agri background so it won't be cleared, and it won't be sold. As well has the reds, we've seen foxes, hedgehogs, rabbit and pheasant on it, not that we walk on it that much so it really is an undisturbed little haven for wildlife
We didn't see the squirrels during the hard frost over the winter so they were getting food somewhere. Other neighbours in the area have seen reds at their feeders too.
Oh and the cat won't get it... unless they really do have 9 lives, cos its first one was squashed by a car:cool:0 -
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BTW letting a few ponies or cattle in from midsummer through the winter can be beneficial to the ecosystem, they have discovered this in the Burren and the New Forest in UK. Keeps the brambles down and allows wildflowers etc. to thrive.
Absolutely! I've personally seen places that were simply classed as " Scrub " completely transformed this way, in next to no time. After decades of decay
And Blue; Sorry, mate. Ye appear to have rather misread the 'tone' of my initial response there. I'm not blaming anyone. I was just saying what a tragedy it seems that one more nail has been ~ however inadvertently ~ hammered into the nail of the Irish Red's coffin.
I'm asking if Nothing can now be Done to help this, one more, (Seemingly) isolated pocket.
Anyway, I was in town today. I'm ahead of myself on pints per hour consumption
I don't like to even try to 'discuss' a matter when I've had a few.
Just don't want to imagine that scene from " Das Boot " kicking off though
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I sometimes come across red squirrels in the woodlands around the Comeragh Mts in Co. Waterford. However, it is very difficult to see red squirrels, even though they may well be present. It is worth checking for signs of squirrels in woodlands such as stripped pine cones. You might come across a little pile of these on a tree stump or under a tree.
If there are hazel nuts in the area, you can also see if a squirrel has eaten them as they will be completely split.
These can then be differentiated from a hazel nut that a mouse has eaten as these will have a circular hole.
Also worth keeping an eye out for a drey. You can tell the difference between a squirrel drey and birds nest by the position of where the squirrel makes it's drey. They usually build close to the tree trunk.
Happy squirrling!0 -
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