squirrel control

[Martlandhw100]

Well the night went to plan I will be leaving work in 10min so that means I will be at the wood before daylight and set up ready for the first visitor around 7 o'clock as long as they show 😁👍 🤞

[Morkin]

Well done chap you done well but all the time put in you deserve a cracker sometimes,No trick questions for us today.Good report thanks

[ratchers]

Was out this cold and frosty morning hoping for better a time than yesterday and for the sun to come out! had to scrape the windscreen.

Well yesterday I had buzzards and today I've had crows,crows and more crows, maybe love is in the air and they are preparing.

Only thing I saw on the feeding box was a pheasant which has learned where the spilt wheat comes from.

As they say, better luck next time, love to see a squirrel at the moment never mind shooting eight.

[Martlandhw100]

Well I went to the wood this morning was in there set up by 6.15am by 6.45 the crows where in the trees trying to mate one another I didn't take a shot as the squirrels have been showing everyday on the camera by 7 o'clock onwords. 

7 o'clock came and went and the crows where still teasing me sitting in the trees above my head and all around me. At 8.30am I had my first sighting a small gray up to my left barking and looking in my direction I stayed still as I didn't have a clear shot. It was barking for a good 10 minutes before it started to move towards the feeder and disappeared. 15 minutes later I noticed a large gray come over the top of the big oak tree that the feeder is on and make its way down to the feeder jumps on the feeder then goes down on the floor then back up. 8.55am it settled on the feeder. 

The 15.89gr hades hit with a solid WACK down it goes between the eye and ear. I waited around until 10.20am and saw one more up in the tops of the trees enjoying the sun as it seemed. 

So just the 1 for me today no big bags as I was hoping for. 

I wonder if it was because it was abit colder than it has been last night that they stayed in bed a little longer. 🤔 

[Mice!]

56 minutes ago, Martlandhw100 said:

wonder if it was because it was abit colder than it has been last night that they stayed in bed a little longer. 🤔 

If was certainly a shock how cold was compared to yesterday,  I had a master plan but it didn't plan out, bit of crossed communications,  but it turned out a lovely morning for a walk with a bonus squirrel. 

He was just sat sunning himself, seemed twice the size of yesterday's. 

Has anyone heard if squirrels enter a rut like red deer when breeding? 

8 hours ago, Morkin said:

Well done chap you done well but all the time put in you deserve a cracker sometimes,No trick questions for us today.Good report thanks

Cheers fella,  no tricks today 😅

4 hours ago, ratchers said:

As they say, better luck next time, love to see a squirrel at the moment never mind shooting eight.

That's two months worth fella, I've been 3 or 4 times and had nothing, someone else has said the other females might already be holed up with young, or knocked up, possibly she was the only available female and drew in the males?

[Martlandhw100]

It's funny how all you have shot is males the females must be with a litter or about to have one I think. The female I shot today definitely wasn't pregnant so I wonder if there abit behind the ones up there 🤔

[Mice!]

34 minutes ago, Martlandhw100 said:

It's funny how all you have shot is males the females must be with a litter or about to have one I think. The female I shot today definitely wasn't pregnant so I wonder if there abit behind the ones up there 🤔

That's what's been suggested and makes sense to me, they should use the female pheromones in those good nature traps, they'd be fighting to stick there heads in.

[Walker570]

I went out this evening just as the sun was setting with the idea of taking a fox or two. I settled in the high seat and looked across at the Pear Tree flip top and sure enough there sat a cheaky tree rat and I'm sure it was waving at me.  I didn't see a fox but will be waving back to that tree rat in the morning. The level in the flip top had gone down about 50% in a few days so there may be more than one.  I suppose I could have shot it, but seemed a terrible waste of a very expensive TSX bullet.

A cheapy 40gr Hornady will suffice in the morning.

[Martlandhw100]

Well this morning took kids to school then took the dog for a walk went home to get the lid for the feeder grabbed some peanuts and the drill and off I went to the golf course. 

 

On arrival I was met by misses gray in the car park so got the lesiey out its bag loaded it up took aim and down she went. 

I hadn't come to shoot today just too check the feeder and fit the lid so this squirrel was a bonus. Picked it up and parked the car.

 

Get the bag with everything I need in it and off I trot to the feeder I wanted to time how long it took from the car to feeder which was 15 minutes. approaching the feeder I see I gray jump off, my thoughts where they have found it then. Walk a little further so I can see the front of it and there was one sat on it and one on the tree stump next to it. There was also one in the piles of logs behind the feeder.

 

Check the food and half had gone so I will be hitting this feeder one morning this week all being well. 

[Mice!]

33 minutes ago, Martlandhw100 said:

Check the food and half had gone so I will be hitting this feeder one morning this week all being well. 

Oh happy days, bag em up 👍

[Walker570]

Wooooooo that sounds like a potential double figure morning to me. Get at 'em.

 

[Martlandhw100]

1 hour ago, Mice! said:

Oh happy days, bag em up 👍

Ye I was shocked when they where queuing up for the feeder after a week I know the green keeper said there where a lot but when I put it up I didn't see any so wasn't expecting that. 

1 hour ago, Walker570 said:

Wooooooo that sounds like a potential double figure morning to me. Get at 'em.

 

A double figure morning would be amazing more than two would be great to beat my biggest bag 😂😂 

[ratchers]

Was frosty again this morning so I thought I'd wait to this afternoon when it had warmed up a bit, pleased to say that I shot a male and female an hour apart,maybe they'd had a tiff!

[Walker570]

It was serious cold here all day. Out tomorrow on some ground I have not touched for about four months, so be interesting to see what turns up.

[Mice!]

4 hours ago, ratchers said:

Was frosty again this morning so I thought I'd wait to this afternoon when it had warmed up a bit, pleased to say that I shot a male and female an hour apart,maybe they'd had a tiff!

She had probably gone looking for him because he said he wouldn't be long.

[Mice!]

 

So this is the view of the Hill feeder, left and right, I couldn't decide this morning,  woods or bed? It was cold, frozen crunchy grass and I was expecting them to have stayed tucked up warm.

Took a while but a squirrel finally showed, no where near the feeder though, they slink in and out of the cover, so I carried on bird watching and looking around. 

I'd put some nuts on a log to the right of the feeder and the birds were loving it, along with two new fat balls,  so with the drumming of the woodpecker and the bird song it was all rather pleasant. 

A couple of squirrels had appeared then vanished,  but finally one sat up in the fork of a tree behind and right of the feeder, I'm guessing he'd gone for some height to look around,  Pfft crack. 

One down and that's me happy, it was a good shot and the squirrel dropped straight down, but I couldn't see where it landed so I went and retrieved it. 

Maybe 20-30 minutes past with the odd sighting of another squirrel or two, but they weren't coming to the feeder yet, but then one started rooting around near the log, before going up onto the log, and sitting just behind the nuts Pfft crack,  number two goes down, this one was probably only around 12mtrs but went straight down again. 

Then a couple of shots of where the shooting took place on Thursday. 

Certainly looked great this morning,  spring has sprung.

Two more males,  the females must be holed up.

[Walker570]

Lovely knarly spot that....screams squirrels.

[Mice!]

2 hours ago, Walker570 said:

Lovely knarly spot that....screams squirrels.

It does, just not hungry squirrels,  not yet anyway. 

[Sciurus]

@Mice! Nice photos, interesting that you are seeing them these cold mornings.

I am only 7 miles further up from mice’s spot but it was freezing at 7.30 am, the greys stayed in bed and Windermere lake is hidden by a deep inversion.

 

[Walker570]

It was very quiet in Lincolnshire tis morning as well probably the same reason.

[Mice!]

@Sciurus yesterday was warm compared with today mate, and it's like pea soup out there, I couldn't decide,  shoot or not? Will they come out in this fog, and with it being so cold.

But the gas ran out in the caravan last night so I was as well staying up to sort it anyway.

Took nearly an hour but one came steaming in to the feeder, which was nearly empty when I arrived,  sat just where I wanted it but was a tad twitchy,  I let her eat a few nuts which settled her down, but she didn't finish the third.

The second squirrel was seriously unlucky,  I'd already decided I was packing up at 8:30 but I couldn't feel my toes, 8:18 and I'm trying to look up into the canopy from under my brolley,  movement,  the first had come from behind me and so did this one.

I eased the gun into position and watched as it charged down the feeder tree, no messing,  onto the floor, sniffed the dead squirrel then sat up with a nut from the little pile I'd put on the floor, Pfft whack. 

Both of today's squirrels flipped around a couple of times where as yesterday they just dropped. Buck and a doe.

Picture with the thermal for comparison,  I've been changing the colour settings a lot lately,  I'm finding that different colours work better in different conditions,  for me at least.

Today's two in the middle, yesterday's look really small, I think of bigger squirrels being older more mature animal's??

Have a good day folks.

[Martlandhw100]

5 minutes ago, Mice! said:

@Sciurus yesterday was warm compared with today mate, and it's like pea soup out there, I couldn't decide,  shoot or not? Will they come out in this fog, and with it being so cold.

But the gas ran out in the caravan last night so I was as well staying up to sort it anyway.

Took nearly an hour but one came steaming in to the feeder, which was nearly empty when I arrived,  sat just where I wanted it but was a tad twitchy,  I let her eat a few nuts which settled her down, but she didn't finish the third.

The second squirrel was seriously unlucky,  I'd already decided I was packing up at 8:30 but I couldn't feel my toes, 8:18 and I'm trying to look up into the canopy from under my brolley,  movement,  the first had come from behind me and so did this one.

I eased the gun into position and watched as it charged down the feeder tree, no messing,  onto the floor, sniffed the dead squirrel then sat up with a nut from the little pile I'd put on the floor, Pfft whack. 

Both of today's squirrels flipped around a couple of times where as yesterday they just dropped. Buck and a doe.

Picture with the thermal for comparison,  I've been changing the colour settings a lot lately,  I'm finding that different colours work better in different conditions,  for me at least.

Today's two in the middle, yesterday's look really small, I think of bigger squirrels being older more mature animal's??

Have a good day folks.

Great work again mate I've just took the dog to the big wood to fill the feeder up and check the camera and there is atleast another two that I need to shoot. I say two because there where two on the feeder at the same time there may be more as there are squirrels on it most of the day but could be the same ones. 

[Sciurus]

 I woke up early this morning, so decided to pop down to my local park before all the dog walkers arrive.

There was only a thin layer of ice on the windscreen but it was frozen hard and my scraper hardly made an impression. The park and lake were covered in low cloud and perfect for the thermal.

My feeder had been emptied except for the corn and I easily spotted a grey in a tree about 50yds away. As I crept closer, it ran diagonally towards me into a Scots pine. We played ring a roses round the trunk for a bit, then it stopped on a branch nearly directly overhead, about 15 yds away. I dropped the trigger stick legs but the slope I was standing on was too steep and I couldn’t get the sticks vertical. Eventually I knelt down and corrected the sticks and thankfully the grey was still there. I had to thread the shot through some branches but thwack, it fell like a sack of spuds, had a quick kick about and  it was game over. An adult male.

The copse is only small and since it was bitterly cold, and I couldn’t see any more,  I popped the grey into a dog poo bag and dropped it into the nearest bin on my way out.

I was back home by 8am for a welcome warming cup of tea.

[Mice!]

7 hours ago, Martlandhw100 said:

Great work again mate I've just took the dog to the big wood to fill the feeder up and check the camera and there is atleast another two that I need to shoot. I say two because there where two on the feeder at the same time there may be more as there are squirrels on it most of the day but could be the same ones. 

I had 2 or three on camera mate back in Jan, but I've had 11 off that one feeder now.

3 hours ago, Sciurus said:

 I woke up early this morning, so decided to pop down to my local park before all the dog walkers arrive.

There was only a thin layer of ice on the windscreen but it was frozen hard and my scraper hardly made an impression. The park and lake were covered in low cloud and perfect for the thermal.

My feeder had been emptied except for the corn and I easily spotted a grey in a tree about 50yds away. As I crept closer, it ran diagonally towards me into a Scots pine. We played ring a roses round the trunk for a bit, then it stopped on a branch nearly directly overhead, about 15 yds away. I dropped the trigger stick legs but the slope I was standing on was too steep and I couldn’t get the sticks vertical. Eventually I knelt down and corrected the sticks and thankfully the grey was still there. I had to thread the shot through some branches but thwack, it fell like a sack of spuds, had a quick kick about and  it was game over. An adult male.

The copse is only small and since it was bitterly cold, and I couldn’t see any more,  I popped the grey into a dog poo bag and dropped it into the nearest bin on my way out.

I was back home by 8am for a welcome warming cup of tea.

Nicely done mate 👍

[Martlandhw100]

Oh well maybe there is a lot more to be had then. I'll keep shooting it until there are no more grays being caught on the camera 👍