squirrel control

[Mice!]

4 hours ago, Longbower said:

I thought , you might find this amusing , if I can get the photo to load .!

There have been a few of these over the last few months, and everyone goes crazy because the greys were released,  saying its breaking the law, when it's not.

But it does make you laugh the length squirrels will ho to to get food.

[leakyseals]

Well, finally broke my duck for 2022! Ive had constant tree-rat activity since the 28th December and narrowly missed one on the 31st. Managed to get this lad today in the live trap; massive, mature boar.

Hopefully, its the start of a productive year in thinning the little bar-stewards out. 

[Walker570]

Good one, keep up the good work.  I have been snookered a bit by the very wet weather as any approach on the golf course at present is not on, with casual water, big enough to satisfy a dozen ducks on each, on places I need to drive, to get to my flip tops, prevents any approach.   Nothing on the flip top I shot three off this week so seems I have thinned them there for the moment.  A couple of places I can still walk into though so better luck this weekend.

[leakyseals]

well, its shaping up to be an interesting weekend! Snagged another mature boar on the 7th, a young female and a small juvenile male today; then, not 10 mins after I bagged the second, another 2 tiddlers appeared but it was the back of 3pm and they didn't stick around as the light was going. Looks like a full litter has found my garden, hopefully they dont leave it.

Thats 17 now from last June out of a 60m2 garden in the middle of a village.

   

[ratchers]

Out just before lunch today and the forecast was for rain so I decided to ambush the pheasant feeder from the comfort and dryness of my car. Was there for three and a half hours and my was it quiet even though it didn't rain that much but nothing much stirred except I saw some yellow sparrows which I have never seen before, something to look up when I get home. Saw a grey way in the distance and not long after heard one barking from a different direction but none close and no pigeons or crows or pheasants, mind you the sydicate shot yesterday so maybe everything is still hiding, another grey makes an appearance on a pheasant feeder but not the one I'm covering, I watch it for a while and wonder if I could sneak up but remember Iv'e tried that before and failed miserably so I just wait it out and finally shoot two within five minutes of each other raiding the grain.

The yellow sparrows I saw could possibly have been siskins, sadly couldn't get a pic as the camera battery was flat.

[Mice!]

1 hour ago, ratchers said:

watch it for a while and wonder if I could sneak up but remember Iv'e tried that before and failed miserably so I just wait it out and finally shoot two within five minutes of each other raiding the grain.

Your patience paid off, well done,  I'm sure we've all decided we've waited long enough and gone walk about then bumped a squirrel where we were!

[old man]

On 09/01/2022 at 17:09, Mice! said:

Your patience paid off, well done,  I'm sure we've all decided we've waited long enough and gone walk about then bumped a squirrel where we were!

Happened to me once with deer, 4 hours of -6 nothing seen decided to get down from the seat. Rifle unloaded and bagged over the shoulder, Three steps down and a roe doe and 2 followers appeared, all in season on a perfect backstop at 70 yds.

Oops! 

[Mice!]

Well I was last up at big wood on Dec 21st, I'd planned or hoped to get out again the Xmas break but it didn't happen. 

I popped up this afternoon gunless,  just a rucksack with feed and the thermal,  it was around 330pm soo I wasn't expecting to see much, and I didn't,  not a thing really other than a few robins. 

But the last time I went out I filled three feeders with cheap B&M bird seed with some added molasses,  this stuff stinks, and makes the seed clump up, I didn't use much but I half expected to find it stuck in the feeders, but all three feeders were pretty much licked clean.

I might have to have a late morning Thursday and see what shows up.

The highlight was hearing a Jay squawking at something,  it then came through the wood chasing a Tawny owl,  always good to get out.

[Sciurus]

2 hours ago, Mice! said:

The highlight was hearing a Jay squawking at something,  it then came through the wood chasing a Tawny owl,  always good to get out.

 

I had another blank day yesterday but my highlight was seeing a weasel with full white winter coat. A first for me.

[Mice!]

40 minutes ago, Sciurus said:

 

I had another blank day yesterday but my highlight was seeing a weasel with full white winter coat. A first for me.

I've only ever seen them in there summer coat 👍

[sam triple]

6 hours ago, Sciurus said:

 

I had another blank day yesterday but my highlight was seeing a weasel with full white winter coat. A first for me.

I only had one Sunday , but had a weasel in the garden just over a week back no doubt he was after my chickens 

[Martlandhw100]

Funny that when I was in the hide I had a weasel running around in front of my feeder it was great to watch

[Walker570]

Magic little animals.  White coat weasel???? Didn't know they tuirned white. Stoats yes..ermine

[Sciurus]

Out at 8am to meet up with my pal and his whippets. It was dull and the thermals were working well. We were in a wood where I had previously seen two greys run up a yew. I took the higher path across the hillside and he took the lower one with the intention of meeting up at the yew. Nearing the yew the older whippet spotted a grey scurrying in the dead leaves on the ground  and went to tree it. Next second, all hell let loose with barking and shouting and a tourists dog appeared from nowhere and started a fight😡. The grey was long gone.

A few hundred yards further on the older dog spotted another grey  halfway up a trunk and stopped dead on the track. Unfortunately this grey was on a mission and disappeared in the distance.

Again, a few hundred yards further on I saw a flash through the thermal in a yew and so had the older whippet. It leapt the ditch and sat patently under the yew looking up with its mouth open ... The problem was I couldn’t spot the grey. My pal circled round to the back and I was rewarded with seeing the grey edge round the trunk of an adjacent oak. Pop - down it fell into the yew, stayed there for a few seconds and was nearly caught by the older dog. A well fed female. This was a case of ‘Ground hog day’, exactly the same happened in the same tree last year!

Into the next small wood of leggy oaks on a steep Bank. My pal let the older dog quarter it to save our legs but it didn’t spot anything. On the way down, a grey was spotted at the top of a drey. We surrounded the drey. My pal shot twice with his  Hushpower.410 and eventually a grey crawled out and clung to the trunk. As I waited for it to drop, another grey ran   down the trunk, Pop pop, it was down and retrieved by the younger dog. The original  ‘mortally’ wounded grey then WOKE up and shot up the trunk to be dispatched by my pal. Two well endowed males.

These two were promptly buried and covered with stone.

By now it was nearly 10am and we were likely to be soon over run with walkers, however we decided to revisit the original yew just in case the grey had returned. On the way, my pal clocked a grey in a pine, I couldn’t thermal it but my pal has a more expensive Pulsar and he could also visually id it as well. Pop - it ran over to my side, reached the end of the branch and turned round and Pop, I had it. It fell over the back of a high drystone wall but no problem. the younger dog ran along the wall to the nearest wall and returned with another well fed female.

By then it was time to pack up, we only had four but was a good end to what was an unpromising start.

Edited January 12, 2022 by Sciurus

[Sciurus]

57 minutes ago, Walker570 said:

Magic little animals.  White coat weasel???? Didn't know they tuirned white. Stoats yes..ermine

Nev, Interesting- perhaps it was a stoat then? I assumed it was a weasel because it was so slim- a very narrow body and not very long. It was all white

[London Best]

44 minutes ago, Sciurus said:

Nev, Interesting- perhaps it was a stoat then? I assumed it was a weasel because it was so slim- a very narrow body and not very long. It was all white

Lots of people don’t know the difference, but a weasel is very weasely distinguished, whilst a stoat is stoatally different.

[Fisheruk]

Just now, London Best said:

Lots of people don’t know the difference, but a weasel is very weasely distinguished, whilst a stoat is stoatally different.

🤣🤣🤣

[Sciurus]

14 minutes ago, London Best said:

Lots of people don’t know the difference, but a weasel is very weasely distinguished, whilst a stoat is stoatally different.

That joke is truly dreadful!! 😂

[Walker570]

1 hour ago, London Best said:

Lots of people don’t know the difference, but a weasel is very weasely distinguished, whilst a stoat is stoatally different.

Oh dear...go back to bed🤣

I have never seen a stoat enter a mole hole but one day sitting in a high seat a weasel worked mole holes beneath me popping in and out with ease, how it turned around to come back out the same hole I don't know. Amazing little creatures.

[old man]

Ah well, out tomorrow for a try.

Been a lot of shoot activity lately so not that hopeful but someone has to do it?😃

[Mice!]

6 hours ago, Sciurus said:

By then it was time to pack up, we only had four but was a good end to what was an unpromising start.

Sounds like a good morning to me mate.

I stayed up and went out this morning,  I had two hours at the golf course wood and only saw one squirrel in the wood, I saw pheasants,  woodcock,  woodpeckers,  wren's, a pair of Goldcrest pigeons galore and blackbirds & tits but a definite lack of squirrels.

Big wood tomorrow. 

[Walker570]

I am ######y miserable. My knee has swollen to the stage I cannot walk and I can't get out.  My neighbour up the village did contact me earlier and he said he could now deal with the trapped ones with his new rifle. One dealt with

[old man]

53 minutes ago, Walker570 said:

I am ######y miserable. My knee has swollen to the stage I cannot walk and I can't get out.  My neighbour up the village did contact me earlier and he said he could now deal with the trapped ones with his new rifle. One dealt with

Take care Sir. They won't stop breeding.

[ratchers]

Out before it got light today to get in position for ambush.....but let me rewind a little. I was out at this permission on saturday just to top the flip tops up in readiness, well I got there about nine yesterday morning and when I drove in there were three squirrels playing tig on the lawn, damn, never mind, got geared up and in position hoping they would come back.Waited an hour at one flip top and decided to move to the other at the back of this large garden on the other side of the house, nothing doing there either so went for a stroll and parked myself in between a large beech tree and a wall where I could watch the first feeder although at 50 yards away and the second box. Another wait but finally movement at the first feeder where a grey would take a peanut then disappear only to come back a few minutes later, obviously stocking the larder up. After a while I tried to time it so I could get closer in without the squirrel seeing me but don't think it worked as I sat in the new postion for half an hour and he never came back. Which brings me back to this morning, got in postion before dawn and waited, thankfully quite mild, after a while saw some movement across the lawn, two rabbits which are also on the householders hit list, but I was after greys todays, saw a squirrel at the base of the tree where the flip top is and watched it finally take a peanut, right just sit still.......what its off.......did it see me.....is it the same one from yesterday, but its gone in a different direction.......back to waiting and hoping.....and here it comes for another peanut, I'm not going to wait for it to jump down this time and as soon as it turns round from getting a peanut I shoot and drat and double drat I miss, after all that bloody waiting, snatched the shot. Decide to move to the other feeder so walk cautiously around the house and see two greys on the tree, ones in the box taking a nut and then both run towards me,one sees me and veers off whilst the other sits on top of a bush where I take the shot, missed again,noooo but wait he staggers away and I find him jammed under a log quite dead, a big male. Still two more to get so I will be back.

[Rookandrabbit]

20 hours ago, Walker570 said:

am ######y miserable. My knee has swollen to the stage I cannot walk and I can't get out.  My neighbour up the village did contact me earlier and he said he could now deal with the trapped ones with his new rifle. One dealt with

Take care in protecting your bad knee! You will soon be back fighting the good fight. But while you are laid up it will give you time to check out all of the new shooting goodies that seem to have suddenly appeared on the internet just in time for Christmas and are now in the January sales. Kind regards Rookandrabbit.