Bayley, Sam
Sun, 10 Jan 2010 09:08:27 -0800
An interesting article, but I am sceptical and I have to agree with Richard that they must affect woodland ecology and as a result the birds there. At Warnham LNR the plantations which are now mainly birch suffer greatly from squirrels. Nearly all the birch as well as oak, willow, chestnut and more, have been ring barked about a third down from the tops by squirrels killing the top of the tree and has affected the growth, health and seed production. There may be other factors involved as well, but as an example, we now rarely see Redpolls feeding in this area in the autumn and winter probably due to the lack of food produced from these trees. This was also an area were Willow Tits used to breed, but no more and as a coincidence last year I found a Marsh Tit nest at another site which after a couple of weeks was predated by squirrels. Could they be having a big contribution to the decline of these two species? And as a testament to the killing of young birds; a friend of mine saw a pair of Grey Squirrels raid a Little Owl nest pulling the two fairly well grown chicks from the nest onto the floor and 'pull them to pieces'. At first he thought that this was to take the nest for themselves but afterwards they just ran off and never came back to claim it! You have probably realised that this has hit a raw nerve with me, but those of you that feed birds in the garden and get squirrels will surely know how they scare off the feeding birds to feed themselves. This must also occur in natural situations where food becomes available. Just my thoughts and observations. Sam Bayley -----Original Message----- From: adastra-boun...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk [mailto:adastra-boun...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk] On Behalf Of Richard Price Sent: 09 January 2010 21:26 To: 'Adastra discussion group' Subject: Re: [Adastra] Grey squirrels do not harm woodland birds I never saw one eat a bird but is it possible that they could affect woodland ecology in other ways. Any experts out there that could answer this? -----Original Message----- From: adastra-boun...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk [mailto:adastra-boun...@lists.sxbrc.org.uk] On Behalf Of Patrick Roper Sent: 09 January 2010 20:14 To: 'Adastra discussion group' Subject: [Adastra] Grey squirrels do not harm woodland birds An interesting article here (Grey squirrels 'do not harm woodland birds in England'): http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8448000/8448807.stm Patrick Roper Come and explore the wonderful Horsham District in West Sussex. Click here to find out more: www.visithorsham.co.uk www.market-towns.info IMPORTANT NOTICE This e-mail might contain privileged and/or confidential information. If you have received this e-mail in error, please notify the sender and delete the e-mail immediately; you may not use or pass it to anyone else. Whilst every care has been taken to check this outgoing e-mail for viruses, it is your responsibility to carry out checks upon receipt. Horsham District Council does not accept liability for any damage caused. E-mail transmission cannot guarantee to be secure or error free. This e-mail does not create any legal relations, contractual or otherwise. Any views or opinions expressed are personal to the author and do not necessarily represent those of Horsham District Council. This Council does not accept liability for any unauthorised/unlawful statement made by an employee. Information in this e mail may be subject to public disclosure in accordance with the law. Horsham District Council cannot guarantee that it will not provide this e mail to a third party. The Council reserves the right to monitor e-mails in accordance with the law. If this e-mail message or any attachments are incomplete or unreadable, please telephone 01403 215100 or e-mail cont...@horsham.gov.uk. Any reference to "e-mail" in this disclaimer includes any attachments.