squirrel control

[Mice!]

3 hours ago, sam triple said:

Had a log and a large lump of flint on it 

Must be a deer that walks on two legs then!

[old man]

Out again this morning, beautiful sky and sunny.

Other than one bolting off as I drove up, Nothing seen.

4 hours in a semi dream like state. Feeders removed as I left last time so nothing for anyone to use. 

[Walker570]

My Forest Ranger reported no tree rats in the wood this morning but at 14.30hrs I found one bouncing about in one of our live traps. They keep coming in, the surounding area must be crawling with them.  See a letter in the Telegraph today by a woman who thinks they are marvellous and feeds them in her garden, now those are the people doing untold damage to our native song birds.  Someone on here put on a picture of a tree rat eating a blue tit, perhaps they could send that to the Daily Telegraph.

[Mice!]

1 hour ago, Walker570 said:

Someone on here put on a picture of a tree rat eating a blue tit, perhaps they could send that to the Daily Telegraph.

The only problem with those pictures is that it could easily be eating a dead bird it found, but your absolutely right  most folk have no idea or care that grey squirrels are actually a predator during the nesting season. 

[Walker570]

Had one in a trap this afternoon but the AA S200 was waiting patiently as normal.

The other photo is one of the seven feed tables I have around the wood all with live catch cages on.

The last is a red oak grown from an acorn I brought back from Maine.

[Fisheruk]

16 minutes ago, Walker570 said:

Had one in a trap this afternoon but the AA S200 was waiting patiently as normal.

The other photo is one of the seven feed tables I have around the wood all with live catch cages on.

The last is a red oak grown from an acorn I brought back from Maine.

Great spot 👍

[Mice!]

38 minutes ago, Walker570 said:

Had one in a trap this afternoon but the AA S200 was waiting patiently as normal.

The other photo is one of the seven feed tables I have around the wood all with live catch cages on.

The last is a red oak grown from an acorn I brought back from Maine.

Stunning mate, have you planted everything that's there?

[Walker570]

We had to move there 31 years ago on the death of my father or pay huge amounts of capital gains tax.  we finally finished with 12 !/2 acres comprising the farmhouse and buildings a large orchard with no trees and three small meadows amounting to ten acres.  Tried making hay a couple of years which didn't work and when visiting the Royal Show saw the Poplar Tree Company stand and arranged to plant some 3800 poplars under the Farm Woodland Grant Scheme. Then I under planted with 400 hazels and numerous acorns and the two ash trees on the area soon had hundreds of young ash growing and Field Maple spread from the hedgerows. I plamted a couple of dozen various firs and a few chestnuts sweet and horse, and a few willows, then apart from basic maintenance it was left to it's own means.  I thinned about 1600 of the poplars which we sold as logs and slabbed some and built two raised cabins and built two further cabins all placed for vermin control and observation.   Having kept vermin down now for that period of time we are awash with songbirds and woodpeckers, nuthatches, tree creepers and I feed year round which costs a fortune but is well worth every penny.

We are very lucky people and appreciate that by making visitors welcome to come and enjoy it as well.

I also replanted the orchard which now produces tons of fresh fruit each year.

Edited November 19, 2021 by Walker570

[Mice!]

2 hours ago, Walker570 said:

We had to move there 31 years ago on the death of my father or pay huge amounts of capital gains tax.  we finally finished with 12 !/2 acres comprising the farmhouse and buildings a large orchard with no trees and three small meadows amounting to ten acres.  Tried making hay a couple of years which didn't work and when visiting the Royal Show saw the Poplar Tree Company stand and arranged to plant some 3800 poplars under the Farm Woodland Grant Scheme. Then I under planted with 400 hazels and numerous acorns and the two ash trees on the area soon had hundreds of young ash growing and Field Maple spread from the hedgerows. I plamted a couple of dozen various firs and a few chestnuts sweet and horse, and a few willows, then apart from basic maintenance it was left to it's own means.  I thinned about 1600 of the poplars which we sold as logs and slabbed some and built two raised cabins and built two further cabins all placed for vermin control and observation.   Having kept vermin down now for that period of time we are awash with songbirds and woodpeckers, nuthatches, tree creepers and I feed year round which costs a fortune but is well worth every penny.

We are very lucky people and appreciate that by making visitors welcome to come and enjoy it as well.

I also replanted the orchard which now produces tons of fresh fruit each year.

That must have taken some doing,  I know you have posted about it before but I couldn't remember the extent of what you did.

With 400 Hazel's as a start it's no wonder the squirrels keep coming.

[sam triple]

9 hours ago, Walker570 said:

We had to move there 31 years ago on the death of my father or pay huge amounts of capital gains tax.  we finally finished with 12 !/2 acres comprising the farmhouse and buildings a large orchard with no trees and three small meadows amounting to ten acres.  Tried making hay a couple of years which didn't work and when visiting the Royal Show saw the Poplar Tree Company stand and arranged to plant some 3800 poplars under the Farm Woodland Grant Scheme. Then I under planted with 400 hazels and numerous acorns and the two ash trees on the area soon had hundreds of young ash growing and Field Maple spread from the hedgerows. I plamted a couple of dozen various firs and a few chestnuts sweet and horse, and a few willows, then apart from basic maintenance it was left to it's own means.  I thinned about 1600 of the poplars which we sold as logs and slabbed some and built two raised cabins and built two further cabins all placed for vermin control and observation.   Having kept vermin down now for that period of time we are awash with songbirds and woodpeckers, nuthatches, tree creepers and I feed year round which costs a fortune but is well worth every penny.

We are very lucky people and appreciate that by making visitors welcome to come and enjoy it as well.

I also replanted the orchard which now produces tons of fresh fruit each year.

👍👍👍 hats off to you sir 

[leakyseals]

#11 nabbed this morning at 0830, a mature male in good condition. Been after "target 11" since a first sighting on the 6th, had a couple of glimpses of a grey since then, with them showing no interest in either the birdfeeders or the baited trap, but this lad was straight in the trap with barely a glance about.

[old man]

7 hours ago, sam triple said:

👍👍👍 hats off to you sir 

Indeed, a salute too.

[sam triple]

Mates been up to the feeders both empty again seen squirrels all other the place amongst pheasant feeders ,on top of our feed drums reckons next few days it’s going to be cold and they will be on it like mad , 😔

[Walker570]

33 minutes ago, sam triple said:

Mates been up to the feeders both empty again seen squirrels all other the place amongst pheasant feeders ,on top of our feed drums reckons next few days it’s going to be cold and they will be on it like mad , 😔

What are you wasting time on this forum for then.....  get up there and whack and stack.

[sam triple]

11 minutes ago, Walker570 said:

What are you wasting time on this forum for then.....  get up there and whack and stack.

Got covid 10 days isolation, beginning to climb the walls now another 5 days of it 

[Walker570]

Hah!!   That's why I never take tests.

[Mice!]

5 hours ago, Walker570 said:

What are you wasting time on this forum for then.....  get up there and whack and stack.

He's having to isolate after testing positive 😞

[Walker570]

Had a seriously cheeky one today.  I slipped into an IBC hide I have covering a flip top on THE pear tree, I have shot a lot of tree rats off this tree.  I had only just settled in the chair when one appeared and without stopping lifted the lid and jumped inside only the tip of it's tail sticking out.  A minute or more the lid lifted and out stepped Mr Tree Rat and I expected him to sit up and nibble what he had collected. No suc thing, , quick swerve round the side and up the tree it went with cheeks bulging.  The cheeky ###### was nicking the feed and tacking up to a stash..  I do believe that one was the second I shot out of the five this afternoon as it's attitude was the same, but as oon as it turned to lift the lid it had a very sharp pain in the mid chest region and fell fell off the shelf.  the other four that came got the same because I didn't want the,m sneaking off with the spoils.   That's eight in two days which now puts me on 6.9 or thereabouts perweek close to the one a day I was aiming for this year.  Need two or three weeks like this so it is still possible.

[Mice!]

52 minutes ago, Walker570 said:

Had a seriously cheeky one today.  I slipped into an IBC hide I have covering a flip top on THE pear tree, I have shot a lot of tree rats off this tree.  I had only just settled in the chair when one appeared and without stopping lifted the lid and jumped inside only the tip of it's tail sticking out.  A minute or more the lid lifted and out stepped Mr Tree Rat and I expected him to sit up and nibble what he had collected. No suc thing, , quick swerve round the side and up the tree it went with cheeks bulging.  The cheeky ###### was nicking the feed and tacking up to a stash..  I do believe that one was the second I shot out of the five this afternoon as it's attitude was the same, but as oon as it turned to lift the lid it had a very sharp pain in the mid chest region and fell fell off the shelf.  the other four that came got the same because I didn't want the,m sneaking off with the spoils.   That's eight in two days which now puts me on 6.9 or thereabouts perweek close to the one a day I was aiming for this year.  Need two or three weeks like this so it is still possible.

Top work fella.

I Popped out this morning,  been a while since I've had a quickie 

 

I went out to this feeder last week knowing it would be empty,  I last shot one here on the 9th of September,  there's been nothing much seen since.

 

I planned on giving it an hour then putting up a camera,  but I shot two squirrels in 30mins so didn't put the camera up.

 

Strange how they both reacted to the Whack,  both sat in pretty much the same place, hit in the same spot and both flipped around which hasn't happened in a while, but both were knocked down, and had an exit wound, but one was enormous! I've asked the lad who has them to weigh them when I drop them off.

Big girl

[Walker570]

That is one gigantic tree rat. I have seen quite a few this year which I would consider large but that beats all of them.

Yes, the Pear Tree flip top I shot today i have not been to other than to keep food topped off for weeks BUT I know from the past that once the food starts to vanish then I can expect a bunch to be visiting.

I drove passed another flip top on route to this one and there was a squirrel on that, so I will be there at daybreak tomorrow.  Food in the wood is obviously running out and they are starting to come to feeders.

[Fisheruk]

1 hour ago, Walker570 said:

That is one gigantic tree rat. I have seen quite a few this year which I would consider large but that beats all of them.

Yes, the Pear Tree flip top I shot today i have not been to other than to keep food topped off for weeks BUT I know from the past that once the food starts to vanish then I can expect a bunch to be visiting.

I drove passed another flip top on route to this one and there was a squirrel on that, so I will be there at daybreak tomorrow.  Food in the wood is obviously running out and they are starting to come to feeders.

Yes, they are definitely coming to the feeders well 

[Mice!]

2 hours ago, Walker570 said:

That is one gigantic tree rat. I have seen quite a few this year which I would consider large but that beats all of them.

I'm gobsmacked mate.

This squirrel has just tipped the scales at over 2lb, smaller one was 480 😳😳 I think she's been eating battered Mars bars. 

[Fisheruk]

36 minutes ago, Mice! said:

I'm gobsmacked mate.

This squirrel has just tipped the scales at over 2lb, smaller one was 480 😳😳 I think she's been eating battered Mars bars. 

Is that 1.26kg?

just realised I read the scales upside down. Even so 921grms is the biggest I’ve ever seen 

Edited November 23, 2021 by Fisheruk

[Walker570]

I've seen a few that had large..fat bodies but still the feet and legs where normal size but that was is big all over.  I always say I'm glad they don't grow as big as labradors but could this be a genetic move in that direction????

[Fisheruk]

5 minutes ago, Walker570 said:

I've seen a few that had large..fat bodies but still the feet and legs where normal size but that was is big all over.  I always say I'm glad they don't grow as big as labradors but could this be a genetic move in that direction????

We’ll be using centre fire on them soon 😳