Sciurus

A bit gusty and miserable in S Lakes.

Marsh Man, glad it all went ok- I very quickly got back to fitness with the stent- sorry yours took all day. No doubt you will be on medication for some time, just look out for unusual side effects like annoying coughs and flatulence and tell your GP, who can alter your medication. I also then suffered from cold fingers, which made loading .410 cartridges very difficult but again tweaking the medication restored me to full rude health. Enjoy your new lease of life 👍

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Seven trapped in last two days Total 1573

Four more today (3 shot and 1 trapped) Total 1477

Two more today from the same house- thats 9 squirrels in 3 days from one house that hadn’t seen a squirrel for months. The same thing happened there last June. Total 1466

Another 10 trapped in loan traps - I was called out to one house 3 times today. June is always a busy month. Total 1464

11 for me- 4 shot and 7 trapped- majority are adult females. Total 1454

Two more trapped today I use a Crosman .22.- I think its a vertical shot downwards that doesn’t result in an immediate kill as the brain is pretty thin there. A shot to the side of the brain is very effective and exits through the other side. Total 1270

@Mice! Another good day out👍-(not quite your target of an empty magazine at the 1st feeder but very impressive!) No midges up here yet. I was Interested in your thoughts on youngsters needing a second shot. I have often found that when culling greys at very close range in a trap , that a second shot is needed (although brain dead they have a tight grip on the mesh). I guess the 1 shot passes straight through without much distortion?

Three trapped over the weekend Total 1238

Four more today Total 1193

As I get older, it is harder to get out of bed early in the winter months, but with the lighter mornings it is much easier and as it was a dull morning I thought it would be a good opportunity to revisit the two wynch elm trees for an hour before breakfast. Arriving at the walled garden, there were no greys having breakfast in the canopy but plenty of evidence of elm disc and leaves on the ground from previous feeding sessions. Sitting down on a convenient bench, (luxury!), I set up the trigger sticks and donned the camo face mask. Scanning the area, there was already a grey hunched on a post, giving me the evil eye, an easy head shot through to the chest. I retrieved a large pregnant sow, as I sat down there was a grey immediately above gorging on the elm discs, a more difficult shot as I contorted beneath the trigger sticks- another large pregnant female. Half an hour passed and a small grey then slowly crawled up the trunk 5 m in front of me. I caught up with it by the time it settled down for a snack in the canopy, making a quick adjustment for its close proximity, it was another easy shot. Perhaps, another 10 minutes passed and there was another grey on the discs, this one clocked me moving the trigger sticks and hid in the branches. With the help of the thermal, I spotted just its head peeking out and again another easy shot all from the comfort of my bench. It then started to drizzle so packed up and was home for breakfast by 8.30. With the 4 today, that is 11, I have had in a week from two scrawny elm saplings. I am used to huge oaks and beeches and wary greys. I just can’t believe just how attractive the wych elm seeds are to the greys and how oblivious they are to me. I’ll be back….. This mornings haul and my luxurious bench!

35 for me this year (shot and trapped). Apologies Mice, hopefully more in future, now I am free of other annoying diversions! 😉😂 Total 1166

I popped out this morning and shot two more, not easy shooting as they really shake and bounce in the branches. The woodland trust website have a good section on wych elm. My trees are only tall and leggy saplings, the flowers are lighter green with a seed in the centre. You can just see the lighter flowers in clusters a typical leaf Flowers with small seeds discarded by the greys This tawney owlet was quite undisturbed by my presence and shooting.