Sciurus

I was another who used to stuff sodium chlorate and sugar into used Co2 cartridges from my Dads soda syphon to make a bomb and then set fire to it- I guess I had a lucky escape!🥱

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 👍

Karma? a5d0ee9c-ede6-4710-8b7d-c20ea60b6864.mp4

@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?

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!

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.

I meant to add that if an impatient B. like me can shoot 5, goodness knows how many Hawkeye mice would have shot!😂 These were all mature greys not young and stupid ones. - I went last week and saw nothing.

This was the walled garden near where we park. The usual shooting area was deserted (apart from rabbits). Wych elm was described to me as looking like a hazel bush with large flowers. I had never taken notice of it before, it is so insignificant, but the greys were on it like a rash. They took very little notice of me approaching and knocking them off one by one. I have never seen anything like it as they normally run a mile before I park up! The thermal was very helpful. Every day is a school day. I will get out over the weekend before the feeding frenzy finishes.

@Mice- some good numbers there Kev👍 I have had a few mornings out with singles or complete blanks- not seeing many and not catching many in the loan traps. This morning started badly… I have a nice 10 acre wood, that I am allowed to shoot the greys when the owners daughter is away. I got the all clear on Wednesday and set out early with the 20b, unfortunately when I got there, there was a gang of tree fellers clearing branches along the power lines. This is the second time in a fortnight, I have had to pack up because of felling (so many widow makers left over from previous storms). I went back home and picked up my Daystate and headed to my nearest permission which is unfortunately a very popular tourist destination . Another volunteer had told me the greys were on the witch elm on his permission, so I kept my eyes open and sure enough I saw a tall sapling shaking in the walled garden below me, one- two and then three greys running and eating in the canopy! The only problem there wasn’t a safe backstop, there were two concealed footpaths running parallel below me and a school further on. I carried on and did a large detour and entered the wall garden from below, immediately a young grey ran up a nearby trunk, which was quickly shot and picked up. I managed to position myself practically under the witch elm, which was now shaking with 4 greys running about. Taking my time waiting for a clear safe shot I downed two of them. Turning round I could hear another calling 50 yds away, I crept closer, the sound was echoing round the garden walls and it took a while to finally spot it in a yew. Four down. Returning to the wich elm, I spotted a grey with the thermal sitting in the crook of a pine. Five down in about 30 mins, which is good going for me (although I could only pick up three- the badgers can have the other two!) By 9 am, it was just too busy with noisy walkers in groups of five and six and assorted dogs and time above and below, so time to go home for a well earned coffee. If any of you have witch elm, perhaps it is worth a look. The greys were in the taller saplings to the right of the picture.

@sam triple- great quality video 👍 I find the discussions on best bait for grey very interesting, it obviously must vary all over the country. I am just a few miles north of Mices patch, but even more damper/wetter. Like him, greys won’t touch wheat or maize. Quite often they seem to get bored with sunflower hearts and peanuts and just abandon a feeder after a week or two of feeding and go elsewhere. Most of the woodland here is ancient woodland with massive oaks and beeches, with lots of hazel and yews to keep them well fed till February or March. I don’t see many dreys either as there are so many holes and cracks in the old trees for them to live. Our local red squirrel group (which we are members) take out 4000-6000+ greys every year from the area, this means that the surviving greys are very wary and alert and generally do not struggle to find natural food in such a heavily wooded county. It’s a constant challenge (& that’s without the rain!) Like a number of areas in the Lakes, I had an outbreak of squirrel pox in one small colony of reds in a wood that I control. Luckily, we didn’t lose too many and I have had to spend a couple of mornings last month sitting in wait each time a new grey intruder was spotted. Although this can be a long cold and frustrating early morning wait, it does have its highlights as I watch the reds go about their daily business or should I say, the reds watch me sitting in wait? Each time I have taken out the new intruder but after a weeks respite, a new grey has appeared and will be dealt with shortly.

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Windermere is now being twinned with Chamonix! 7f020e2f-8205-4db4-8b5a-dad645c9b385.mp4

One of the cars abandoned in our road- the local kids have a sense of humour!😇

@Mice!Windermere at 4 pm, it’s still snowing at 9pm. Roads are total chaos and gridlocked ,cars abandoned everywhere . I think you might be better having the day off👍