Squirrels

[Daveo26]

I shot a grey squirrel last week in a big conifer wood, when I collected it from the bottom for the tree I waited for a few minutes,

Just as I was about to pick up and move on I heard the chattering sound of another squirrel in the next tree.

I shot that one too.

Both were bucks but the second was much bigger than the first.

Then two days later same wood I had the exact same thing happen again shot one, waited and another one appeared.

Both bucks the second bigger.

Is the chattering a distress called or dominance a thing?

Im also wondering about how many I missed from walking off too soon.

Has anyone seen this before?

[Catweazle]

I'm not sure about the chattering, but the barking is definitely a threat. On several occasions I have had a large buck squirrel come towards me barking, trying to scare me away.

 

It's comical when it happens, difficult to aim properly when you're laughing.

[foxbuster]

The chattering/barking is an alarm call to its mates warning of a threat.

[Zaiyn]

I once was propped up against an oak and heard an angry chattering from above.

A male squirrel was coming down the trunk from above, I turned and had to lie down and shoot almost straight up (air rifle). The booger almost landed on my face!

That was about 10 years ago now but this thread reminded me and makes me remember it like it was last week.

 

Regards

 

Z.

[Daveo26]

The second squizzer from the second pair ran down the tree trunk towards me chattering/barking.

Iv shot a good few squirrels and often heard the chattering but never had squirrels appear moments after shooting their mates.

It was quite odd.

Zaiyn, I once shot a feral pigeon off a window sill on a derelict building pretty high up.

It lept off and glided down and hit my brother in the face, It knocked him about pretty well i laughed my head off.

[Zaiyn]

The second squizzer from the second pair ran down the tree trunk towards me chattering/barking.

Iv shot a good few squirrels and often heard the chattering but never had squirrels appear moments after shooting their mates.

It was quite odd.

Zaiyn, I once shot a feral pigeon off a window sill on a derelict building pretty high up.

It lept off and glided down and hit my brother in the face, It knocked him about pretty well i laughed my head off.

I think I would have let out some pee if I'd have been there Dave

 

 

Come to think of it, the squirrel I mentioned was the second of a pair! Perhaps they come to defend their kith and kin :blink:

[Acid House]

I had one give me a right mothfull one morning from the tree I park my car under. I was loading the boot with guns at the time but I am sure the little sod knew full well couldn't shoot in my back street. It barked, hissed and spat until I had finished even the wife was hanging out of an upstairs window splitting her sides.

 

I didn't come home that day until I'd bagged six of em.

[Gimlet]

Many years ago when we were teenagers a mate and I were riding our motorbikes down a lane. we were riding very slowly and my mate was flopping his bike from side to side and swooping to and fro across the lane, just messing about. Around a bend there was a squirrel in the road. My mate stopped his swooping, rode straight at it and swerved away at the last minute.

The squirrel was incensed. It chased him up the road running between his wheels and leaping up at the bike. We couldn't hear it but its mouth was working pretty busily and it was clearly cursing for all it was worth. It threw its self at his foot when he tried to fend it off.

He had to accelerate away to get rid of it. When we were clear we looked back and it was still running up the road towards us. He's 48 now and he's never liked squirrels since.