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squirrel control


Mice!
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@welsh1 this topic has been in the airgun section since 2017 but has just been moved for some reason?? Can you put it back please?

Short session out yesterday,  seeing the first signs of Hazel, Acorns and Sycamore being hit now in the canopy,  but I topped these feeders up last week,  checked again on Monday night then set up Tuesday night. 

I had 6 come into the feeder, one vanished and one didn't give a shot before being pushed off by another but 4 were taken cleanly over an hour, the wood itself was as quiet as I've ever known it, not a breath of wind disturbing the trees.

this probably signals a quiet spell, but I'll keep monitoring the feed across my feeders and get out where I can.

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2 pairs of mature squirrels. 

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4 of the 6 came down the dry stone wall, little woodland highways.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I was out today walking in a country park we've not been in before,  loads of chewed pine cones, Hazel nuts,  Beech mast, even some chewed chestnuts which are nowhere near ready.

Back to filling feeders this week after my holidays then start shooting again in a few weeks,  but I know it'll be quiet for a while yet.

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Been a bit quiet down sarf , country house feeders largely ignored mt woodland perm has been decimated with the removal of ash trees from ash die back , god knows how many hundreds of tons have been removed but the woods are unrecognisable 

1 hour ago, Mice! said:

 No idea mate, I did ask @welsh1 on the thread but for some reason he's just ignored me??

So again @welsh1 why was this thread moved having been in the airgun section since 2017

👍
Someone trying to reinvent the wheel 

Edited by sam triple
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3 hours ago, Mice! said:

 No idea mate, I did ask @welsh1 on the thread but for some reason he's just ignored me??

So again @welsh1 why was this thread moved having been in the airgun section since 2017

It's been moved because it was in the wrong section, it is pest control.
I didn't ignore you, i had literally just got back from riding the Spyder from the Dordogne, when you posted, and then straight back to work which was manic, and i simply forgot to answer because i was working flat out on engineering reports.

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10 hours ago, welsh1 said:

and i simply forgot to answer because i was working flat out on engineering reports.

Fair enough mate but I wasn't answered,  and like I said it's been in the airgun section for 7 plus years, it's predominantly squirrel control with air guns 🤷‍♂️

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1 hour ago, Mice! said:

Fair enough mate but I wasn't answered,  and like I said it's been in the airgun section for 7 plus years, it's predominantly squirrel control with air guns 🤷‍♂️

FYI, I didn't move it. but i agree with it being moved, it was one of those posts that slipped under the radar and now has been seen and sorted.

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Out this morning into one of the woods where we do control. A single male 550 grams arrived down from feeding in the canopy on the natural food it won’t be coming back.

One of the group asked for a spinner to zero on the feeders. I’ve brazed up some little brackets which take a removable spinner. Each member of the team has a spinner for their bag and simply screw their spinner in when they need to zero and remove it when they leave. It keeps things discreet and therefore the feeders are not obvious to the casual passer-by.

 

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Edited by Fisheruk
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Well, out again this morning. One grey removed from a wood just about 500 metres from a Red Squirrel wood. The owner of that wood hasn’t seen a grey squirrel recently, as the team has been persistently removing grey squirrels as the appear. This morning another member of the team reported no signs of Grey Squirrels in another nearby private wood a few hundred metres from the Red Squirrel wood, we must be doing something right.
 

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On 14/08/2024 at 13:44, Fisheruk said:

Well, out again this morning. One grey removed from a wood just about 500 metres from a Red Squirrel wood. The owner of that wood hasn’t seen a grey squirrel recently, as the team has been persistently removing grey squirrels as the appear. This morning another member of the team reported no signs of Grey Squirrels in another nearby private wood a few hundred metres from the Red Squirrel wood, we must be doing something right.
 

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Very well done 👏 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Nice little session yesterday,  I'm slowly topping up feeders, I'd set my brolley up Monday night,  the feed wasn't down by much, but shot 4 in about 2hrs, they were on the feeder or on the Hazel and nipping to the feeder.

The beauty of shooting a PCP off sticks is you can shoot right or left handed without any issues,  or at least I can, the last one was on a tight angle to my right in the canopy and wasn't coming to the feeder, but it still dropped without a twitch.

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Much different colours on the male, I've had a few like this now.

As a bonus I bumped into the land owner and she said its the first year they've ever had any apples on their trees, she said she's always been jealous seeing other gardens with apples on the trees 😁

Then I was off to Big wood, I topped up and had a walk about, I got one on the other side of a deer fence but left it there.  I did see a few other squirrels but they were up in the thick canopy or playing chase, won't be long till there on the sweet chestnuts though so I'll be back. 

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Out this morning protecting the Reds. This one was busy caching for the winter.

Yesterday two greys were removed from a wood close by this wood where the Red Squirrels live and this morning another was shot in the canopy nearby, but was hung up so we couldn’t determine what sex and weight it was. Now Buzzard food.

 

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One unlucky grey from yesterday. I was heading back to my car and I heard this female calling. I picked it up in the canopy with my thermal. It was lying flat on a branch near the top of a circa 200 year old oak tree. The thermal blanket was just picking its head up. Fortunately for me, but not the squirrel. There was a fallen tree I could sit on and position my Trigger sticks comfortably resting my 22 year old FAC Verminator Mk1 in .22.  Through my MTC Copperhead which I zero at 50m I could clearly see the head and two ears. Fortunately for me, unfortunately for the squirrel it was ranged at 50m! Exhale, wait two seconds, squeeze the trigger and down it came with a thump, landing at the base of the tree. A satisfying shot!

 

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The word keeps getting around. From loaning a trap to a lady who wanted to catch a squirrel in her garden we have now been introduced to another person who wants the squirrels controlling in his garden, a modest 12.5 acres. A quick reccy has shown multiple Grey Squirrels so we are onto it this week! 
The owner wants to see Red Squirrels returning, the nearest woodland which we also do the Grey Control where there is a healthy population of Red Squirrels is only a few miles away and we a thinning out the greys in several woodlands in between the two sites.

 

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Edited by Fisheruk
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The first of the year from my garden Sunday, it's taken a good 5 years or so, but I've only had a couple of sightings this year, heard the odd one in the wood behind me, but I don't generally get 10 a year now, and each year they seem to arrive later.

They must move in from further a field, but they don't get comfy.

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Just put a third feeder up in this new 12.5 acre woodland. The previous two feeders are being used, so signs are good.

This wood is thick with greys so we should have some good numbers.

Shot my first there this morning, sitting on the tailgate of my pickup finishing off my flask and a grey came foraging beneath an Oak. Quickly reloaded the rimfire and a simple shot at 45 metres.

This is one of the new feeders.

 

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On 10/09/2024 at 08:32, Mice! said:

.

Edited by Fisheruk
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On 10/09/2024 at 08:32, Mice! said:

The first of the year from my garden Sunday, it's taken a good 5 years or so, but I've only had a couple of sightings this year, heard the odd one in the wood behind me, but I don't generally get 10 a year now, and each year they seem to arrive later.

They must move in from further a field, but they don't get comfy.

I wonder whether the new housing developments to the north and west of you are displacing the squirrels to the woods behind you?

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A first for me...

I have heard Squirrels barking but yesterday was the first time I have heard a female Squirrel calling for a mate, loudly.

I had no idea what the sound was and thought it was a 'sick'magpie at first.

It also sounded a bit like a squealing rabbit. Very hard to describe and then I finally saw it.😃 But it stopped calling by then so I had to U tube it. 

What a strange call.

Edited by Good shot?
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On 14/09/2024 at 12:23, Good shot? said:

A first for me...

I have heard Squirrels barking but yesterday was the first time I have heard a female Squirrel calling for a mate, loudly.

I had no idea what the sound was and thought it was a 'sick'magpie at first.

It also sounded a bit like a squealing rabbit. Very hard to describe and then I finally saw it.😃 But it stopped calling by then so I had to U tube it. 

What a strange call.

I've had occasions where I've not spotted them but the call has caught my attention,  certainly sounds like a Magpie,  the wheezing bark is very odd though.

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