A Haven for Wildlife

Lovely shot!

Ah...what a brill photo David....:>)

That's a very well-fed squirrel. They are fascinating little critters & I really wish we had them here in NZ.

I have a resident squirrel gang that think everything I plant is for them to dig up. Walnuts get planted everywhere by them, the lawns sprout hundreds of walnut seedlings every Spring, they love to dig holes furiously in freshly turned veg beds & shout with equal ferocity at me from overhead branches when Im pottering. Im about to plant garlic but know they will be uprooted by teatime the next day so wire netting is required. For sure Im the intruder on their patch & I would'nt harm a hair on them. They amuse & infuriate but make for some interesting camera opportunities. I'll pop a photo of the gang leader. Your squirrel looks polite & well mannered David! could teach mine a few manners I think !

hehe - not many squirrels in my garden - but they are really fun to watch them:)

He looks really chubby, I suppose fattening up for winter!

A good photo David , I thought Yew was poisonous or is that only to humans ? , I love to watch the squirels in our garden as well even if they do eat a good portion of the birds seed ...

looking forward to that squirrel nutkin photo bampy.
i have a pair that shout at me and torment the cat here!

Beautifully plump, David, lovely photo. I enjoy watching them too but they seem to be finding all they need in the woods at the moment.

Glad you like this, folks. He certainly seems to be getting enough fat onboard, doesn't he? :-)

To be honest, Dwyllis, you should be glad that you don't have these. They are a pest, and not just from the damage they do in gardens, like Bampy's comment above. They greatly outnumber our native Red Squirrel, compete with them for food and habitat, and they can also carry a virus to which they are immune, but is lethal to the Reds. They do, however, make for easy "cute little furry" pics. :-)

Every part of the yew tree is toxic, Amy, the leaves, wood, and the seeds inside the berries - or arils, to give them their correct term. Only the ripe red arils, themselves, are non-toxic. Many birds, however, can and do eat the seeds inside the arils without being affected. Like Chilli pepper plants in the wild, the spread of the Yew is largely due to the germination of seeds deposited in bird droppings. In early medieval times, when fields and pastures were not enclosed spaces, Yew cultivated for the making of archers' bows was deliberately grown in Churchyards, which were enclosed, to prevent the poisoning of grazing horses, cattle, pigs, etc. This is why the Yew is so well associated with churchyards and cemeteries.

What a lot of "trivia" from a squirrel, eh? :-D)

very interesting, thank you; the squirrels near here look quite skinny compared with your squirrel

I love to see pics of them, and yours is a great capture, but what with squirrels, badgers and foxes, and we live in suburbia by the sea, I wish they would find somewhere else to dig, a long way away from us.

You're welcome, Sticki. :-)) Perhaps it is just the way this one is sitting on his haunches that makes him look chubby?

Thanks, Dot. Know what you mean. I see badgers and foxes in broad daylight in the grounds of my workplace in Edinburgh city (but never when I remember to take my camera). Wildlife has had to adapt greatly to changing environments, caused by us, I suppose, so this should not be surprising, as I have videos from 20 years ago along the lines of suburban gardens being seen as the "last resorts" for wildlife. This is now a truth, methinks.

An ark, or a simple pea green boat, comes to mind as you are in Hampshire by the sea, but could not possibly suggest a destination without, probably, contravening some kind of "correctness". :-D)

Wonderful photo David, beautiful squirrel, lucky you!

Beautiful photo, i love to see wildlife in my garden aswell.

Great photo of a plump squirrel fattened up for the winter. They made longbows from the yew wood and Goldcrests are quite often seen in yew trees too. I love the colourful trunks of the yew too.

That is the chubbiest little squirrel I've ever seen! lol...so cute! :) Just a few miles from here are red squirrels and as a supporter of the Scottish Wildlife Trust, I hope that they will be preserved, but it's such a pity the greys can't just rub along with the reds as they are all cute. If only they could find a way to get rid of the disease that is passed from grey to red..then we could relax and enjoy them all! :)

Many Thanks for these posts. :-))

Have read, Linda, that many bowmakers are thought to have died from poisoning due to constant contact with Yew wood. Hawfinches and Great Tits also enjoy the "berries".

Am also a member of the SWT, Karen. :-)) We have a thriving population of Reds, too, just 5 miles away. Conservation efforts, as you may know know, have been concentrating, largely, on keeping coniferous woodlands (which the Reds love, especially Scots Pine) separated from broad-leaved woodland, preferred by the Greys, so that the two don't "meet up" so much. A lot of blame being placed on the greys and this virus, but, having tried to find out the origins of it, am none the wiser. Could the virus have been introduced by Man, just as the Greys were from their native homeland? A lot of "food for thought" here.

Thanks David, I actually did not know about the forest separation...I always wondered about HOW they were preserving the reds! The pine forests in Morayshire and along the Spey must be a haven for them! Wonderful places. :)

Those places must be one of the "last resorts" for them, Karen. I love visiting there, too. Have posted a pic, now, of a local "Red". to show how much they differ from the "Greys". We should be so lucky as Kath (Scotkat) to have one visit our gardens, lol!!!

I know, she lives in Kirriemuir...it's a wilderness up there! :)))

he's so plump! look at the mess on his table! Have a lovely plumed gray fellow in our garden too...

Can't lay the blame on him, am afraid, Lori, hehe! The mess due mainly to rain and wind, I think. Your "new2 garden is a veritable wildlife haven, too. :-)

Karen, hope she doesn't see this, lol! With Kirriemuir being the birthplace of JM Barrie, creator of Peter Pan, and a real inspiration for our "pirates" themed garden, could not describe the town as such, haha. :-)

perspective good and framed well.