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squirrel control


Mice!
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Out yesterday morning, sat in hide for a few hours, but weather was against me as it was cold and quite windy with some big gusts blowing over the ridge behind me, some sunny spells but not enough to really entice the greys out. One did however appear and didn't like the taste of the .17hmr.

They are still about as the camera shows but numbers are down and bird life has increased somewhat, great watching and listening to the birds. Jenny Wren working the undergrowth a few feet from me etc.

Took a photo of the feeder from the hide, which is just a camo net put out below a yew tree, where there is a convenient fallen tree for me to sit on. Feeder is about 35yds away.

Second is a close up from trail cam of the feeder, One in the box and one waiting his turn.

 

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22 hours ago, Longbower said:

I'm still squirrel free at my bird feeders . Not seen hide nor hair of one this week. 

Nothing on the wildlife cameras either. 

Lots of folk saying they aren't seeing any about, females will be tucked away giving birth, males are likely in the tree tops on the new buds.

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14 minutes ago, Mice! said:

Lots of folk saying they aren't seeing any about, females will be tucked away giving birth, males are likely in the tree tops on the new buds.

Same here on a new perm last week, two visits and not one sighting anywhere.

At least the feeder found a new home. Fingers crossed.

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Nothing showing on any of my feeders, but one has a single visitor on the trail cam. I am leaving him / her alone for a week in the hope it invites others in. Across to Lincolnshire tomorrow where I topped off all feeders last week so hopefully will see a few there.  The keeper there is continuing to keep his feeders full as they had a lot of birds about at the shut down of the season. Hopefully these will prove attractive as well.

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6 hours ago, old man said:

Same here on a new perm last week, two visits and not one sighting anywhere.

At least the feeder found a new home. Fingers crossed.

New perm 👍👍

5 hours ago, Martlandhw100 said:

I shot 3 this morning and they where all females 

Nice one, I'm 11 to 1 over the last two weeks males to a single female,  I'm expecting a load of youngsters to suddenly pop up.

4 hours ago, powler said:

Today should be good with this nice sun and no wind but I got other chores, but will be up and out in the morning and hopefully the sun will do its part.

I went out Thursday last week, nicest day by far and blanked.

 

1 hour ago, Longbower said:

Been in my hide’y hole all day , still no show !

Im out of wifey’s way so nice an peaceful.👍

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Peace and quiet,  and a picture 👍👍

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1 hour ago, Longbower said:

Yes Mice , piccies. 

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Good afternoon then.

1 hour ago, bruno22rf said:

Plenty around here, around half (approx 50 feeders) of the feeders are empty with all showing some activity, too busy to get on them atm. New gun day tommorow so hopefully introduce her to the greys on Tuesday.  

Didn't realise there were that many feeders out!

And new gun day 😳😳

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On 06/03/2021 at 05:45, Longbower said:

Nice Daystate Sciurus.  Where's your end cap?   I just acquired a Regal FAC .22 .

Well spotted! I have lost two so far, I think they got knocked off by my old shooting sticks. I am now using trigger sticks so will buy a new one. At around £20 per valve cap, it’s an expensive problem.

How do you like you Regal Fac?

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1 hour ago, Sciurus said:

Well spotted! I have lost two so far, I think they got knocked off by my old shooting sticks. I am now using trigger sticks so will buy a new one. At around £20 per valve cap, it’s an expensive problem.

How do you like you Regal Fac?

Likes ; The lack of weight. Trigger, Foster fitting filler. Dislikes ;  Length of bolt stroke. Magazine above action. ITt came at 32ft/lbs, and 30 shots.I  backed it off to 24ft/lbs and 40 plus shots. With .22 Hedes. The squirrels didn't notice the difference.

I cut a 50 mm length of bicycle inner tube and roll it over the cap and tube. 

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This morning I had another early morning quick raid on our local park, it was nice and murky for the thermal but already there were joggers and dog walkers.

Into the copse and it was a repeat of last week, I spotted a grey in the distance and as I approached it moved into another tree, again we played a game of hide and seek until I spotted it lying flat on a branch directly above me. I dropped the legs of the trigger sticks but couldn’t get the grey in my sights. I moved further up the bank and thankfully it was still there. The sticks were already extended, down on one knee, cross hairs on the gap between eye and ear and down it came. An  Adult female. Into the dog poo bag and dropped into the bin on the way out. Back home 8.05am. Mission accomplished.

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Early start this morning . 04.30 and in the wood at 6am just as the light was lifting. Sat watching a flip top I had topped up last Monday until 08.30 and saw nothing ...zilch... not a thing.  Checked the feeder, not touched.  So moved 5 miles south to another estate and a semi high cabin I built two years ago. Reports of tree rats on the pheasnt feeders.  I had hardly settled in the office chair when the first one came out of the trees to the pheasant feeder 15yrds away.  THUNK!! number one.  A few minutes and another came from a different direction and paused long enough to get the same treatment and within minutes a third came from the right and went to the feeder. I had three on the deck and things had just quietened down when one of those I had shot started to bounce about. Checked with the binos to find a stoat having a merry time trying to turn the squireel over. It then suddenly lfted it's head and looked up the wood. I took a look and sure enough there is another on it's way.  I had five there eventually frightening the stoat away and it then went quiet so I moved to another wood where i had seen at least one on the pheasant feeders. It got to about 11 oclock and nothing seen when I could see a large dark shape knocking all sorts out of one of the pheasant feeders. It turned out to be a badger !!!!

I caught a glimpse of movement to my left and sure enough there was number six which on seeing Mr Brock froze for just the right amount of time.  I then moved to another small copse into which I had put a permanent hide (IBC)  I settled in and

had almost fallen asleep when a squirrel came down the tree infront of me and began to run away. I gave a small whistle and it stopped just long enough ... number 7.  All went quiet so moved to another copse where I had a flip top feeder and two pheasant feeders.  It was a good hour and a half before number 8 came out to the furthest feeder which is spot on where my 22RF is zeroed.  It then started to rain so called it a day.

The Keeper called by and indicated a long slingy wood just over their boundary but within their control. Stuffed with tree rats and muntjac he said, so next week weather permitting I may be showing up there at day break with two rifles.

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2 hours ago, Walker570 said:

The Keeper called by and indicated a long slingy wood just over their boundary but within their control. Stuffed with tree rats and muntjac he said, so next week weather permitting I may be showing up there at day break with two rifles.

Sounds like you had a busy day for sure, with more in the pipeline. 

But what's a Slingy wood?

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5 minutes ago, Mice! said:

Sounds like you had a busy day for sure, with more in the pipeline. 

But what's a Slingy wood?

A slingy wood is a long narrow wood usually litle more than 20yrds wide but can be a mile long. The one I refer to is but 500yrds long but about 30yrds across with some ancient oaks and very thck understorey.  A beaters nightmare.

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30 minutes ago, Walker570 said:

A slingy wood is a long narrow wood usually litle more than 20yrds wide but can be a mile long. The one I refer to is but 500yrds long but about 30yrds across with some ancient oaks and very thck understorey.  A beaters nightmare.

Cheers, soon to be a squirrels nightmare. 

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Just the one today, I wasn't going out because of the forecast,  but it didn't seem to bad so I did go, pretty damp and miserable,  first one was taken under the feeder after twenty minutes,  there was another in the tree above that went nuts at squirrel number one back flipping on the ground, I gave it an hour but the second never came back.

I then went to check another feeder, I expected it to be empty or nearly empty but it didn't look touched, I filled it to the brim and I'll check it in a week or so, it's been really quiet at this spot, owners aren't seeing any squirrels do I'm not expecting much until the youngsters come along.

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My feeders in the woods haven’t been touched for 3 weeks but the greys are still out there.

Had 3 separate reports of greys now visiting gardens this week and one loaned trap has caught a female yesterday and the male today. The loan trapping season is possibly about to start for me but I won’t trap for myself until the leaves are out and thermal shooting has finished.

It might be some time, there is snow in the hills again!

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