Stocking up for winter

I was feeding coal tits in the woods when I heard a rustling in the branches and a small face peered out.  Realising that there was free food on offer, the squirrel came to join in.

Here it is doing a Tarzan impression.

This squirrel has notably dark colouring and is growing its ear tufts for the winter.

After a few minutes the squirrel decided it wanted to play a few rounds of a game known locally as "You give me two hazelnuts and I'll run and hide them".

When I offered two nuts it picked them up and searched my hand to see if there were more, but in the last clip it was interesting that when I offered three it took two, realised it couldn't carry three, and ran off with just two anyway.

This was a mesmerising encounter (for me) and I didn't film every round of the game.  At one point I went back to the car for more hazelnuts and the squirrel was waiting when I returned.  I hope it can remember where it put them all.

A handsome red squirrel

I called in on the squirrels as I was passing recently.  There was only one about in the short time I was there and it didn't stick around for long - just long enough for a few photos.  It has a dark tail and white elbows and very handsome ear tufts.

End of year favourites - Mammalia

I have been feeding the foxes in the garden all year.  The first usually arrives soon after dark, before 5 o'clock at this time of year.  Mostly they get peanuts unless there is a squirrel or something else tasty available.  I don't often put out the trail cameras but the foxes don't seem to mind when I do.

We had some snow in March which improved the lighting and meant I could photograph the foxes with a normal camera.  Both these are frame grabs from video.

This year I had my first cub visiting the garden.  In high summer he, and the others, would arrive before dark, again allowing a few photos with a proper camera.

Badgers in the nearby woods have been a bit elusive this year.  I have had many blank nights with the cameras but every now and then I strike lucky.

I had roe deer in the garden for the first time when I left the gate open for them in February.  They usually eat the ivy from the outside of the fence each winter, when there is nothing else left to eat, so I let them in to eat the ivy inside and was rewarded with these photos.

In May I saw my first newborn roe deer fawn in the woods nearby.  It was so young it could barely stand so I took a couple of photos and left it in peace.

Red squirrels are still hanging on locally, despite the relentless advance of the American greys.  This one was in County Durham. 

And best of all, this one was in Gosforth Park Nature Reserve, only a mile from here.

I have seen hares regularly at my local pond when looking for dragonflies this year but I never managed a photo.  This one was in Northumberland in the spring when I was looking for adders.  A bonus.

A few more squirrel photos

I have had time to process more squirrel photos from last week.  I was able to watch this squirrel feeding for 15 minutes.  It seemed to be taking pieces of fungus on the bark from underneath the branches and sitting on top to eat it. At times it was hanging from a branch by just the claws on its hind feet, completely fearless and ignoring the 50 foot drop to the ground.  Squirrels have ankle joints that can rotate 180° to enable them to do this and to run headfirst down tree trunks.  It is amazing to watch.

Good news and bad news

First the good news.  These photos were taken yesterday in Gosforth Park Nature Reserve, less than a mile from here as the crow flies.  This is first time red squirrels have been seen in the reserve for several years and it is more than two years since I saw one in my garden.

Then the bad news.  Twenty seconds after my first glimpse of a red squirrel and 20 yards away I saw an American grey and over the next few hundred yards in the same patch of woodland I saw several greys.  They took over in these woods and ousted the reds more than 10 years ago.

In recent years there have been concerted efforts to control the greys in and around Newcastle with limited success. Red squirrels are absent from most of England and we are on the front line of the battle between reds and greys. Generally the two species don't coexist for long but if greys can be controlled or removed the red squirrels can get re-established.  There continue to be sporadic reports of sightings of reds in and around the city so we are encouraged to keep up the efforts to support them.