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On 10/14/2019 at 9:24 PM, daveb said:

 

 Then a little while later I heard it again. Found it was doing the same thing at another grating farther down, so I chased it off again. There are plenty of trees around for it to hammer at! :P 

If I recall Woodpeckers do this to establish territory amoungst other woodpeckers. Theyll pick the loudest object they can hammer and go to town. Hopefully its something small like a downy and not a pileated.

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56 minutes ago, Marrow said:

If I recall Woodpeckers do this to establish territory amoungst other woodpeckers. Theyll pick the loudest object they can hammer and go to town. Hopefully its something small like a downy and not a pileated.

Interesting, but makes sense.

I don't know what kind it was, but was probably not much bigger than a dove.

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@daveb It might have been a downy or hairy then. I havent had this problem myself (wood house), but maybe try putting out a nut feeder or suet to appease the evil woodpecker

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The one with the biggest pecker is dominant :P:P

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6 hours ago, Marrow said:

@daveb It might have been a downy or hairy then. I havent had this problem myself (wood house), but maybe try putting out a nut feeder or suet to appease the evil woodpecker

That sounds about right (downy or hairy). Pretty sure it wasn't a flicker.

I did put out suet, but the squirrels get to it first, and are clever about it (they opened the suet cage, so I tried wiring it shut, but they managed to knack it off of the pole - I know there are ways to foil the squirrels, I just haven't gotten around to doing more). Anyway, the woodpecker hasn't been back for a while.

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Squirrels are evil when it comes to bird feeders. I have a baffler around the pole of one of my feeding stations, but a squirrel figured out how to jump from my neighbor's shed onto the feeders. 

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We had a very windy night last night (couldn't get good reception on antenna tv because of it). Today I went walking at my local nature park and saw lots of debris (fallen leaves and twigs and branches) and some downed trees (one big one fell down right across a path so I had to scramble through it to get past). I saw 3 deer browsing there, too. At one spot there were 2 browsing pretty close to the trail and not seeming too concerned about me and another guy stopping to look at them. In another spot I saw one bound across the trail in front of me, then noticed another in the woods on that side, and then a third bound across the trail behind me. But they seemed a little more nervous and didn't stick around. I don't know if the latter 3 were a separate group or if it was the first 2 joined by another one. It was in a different location than the first sighting, but not so far they couldn't have gotten there well before I did.

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@LVG heres a trick I use to protect my birdfeeders: hang a fishing line (the higher strength the better) in between two trees then hang the bird feeder in the middle with a hook. If spaced far enough from the trees the squirrels wont be able to jump for it and the line will be to thing for the squirrels to use.

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I tolerate the squirrels coming to my bird feeders.  Since I changed to ones made of a perforated steel tube the squirrels can't damage them.  The greys here aren't native and there is a change in the law coming that wildlife rescues won't be able to treat and release any injured/ orphaned ones.  I find that cruel and needless.  The Royal Parks in London are trapping them in traps set in the trees, and apparently if you look up you can see the corpses.  The reds here are only in certain areas, they dropped in numbers as they were regarded as pests and trapped.  Greys are blamed for the drop in red squirrel numbers, but there is no real proof.  I love the antics of the squirrels at the feeders, I love to see them hiding peanuts and acorns all over the garden.  Long live greys. :) 

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Grey Squirrels carry squirrel pox, which doesn't harm them, but red Squirrels have no immunity, hence they were killed off in the main unintentionally. 

As @Mz Terrysays releasing a captured grey squirrel into the wild is an offence in Britain as they are regarded in law as vermin. 

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@Mz Terry. That would make the Grey's an invasive species, so I can understand the stiff arm to them. They could be causing additional unmentioned harm to other species. European Starlings (invasive species of bird in the US) bully other birds away from feeding areas and can harm some native bird populations. I do think they should handle Greys in a more humane way instead of letting them starve to death in trees.

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http://www.squirrels.info/about.htm  Some balanced information from a wildlife rescue.  These good people will become criminals from December on if they help grey squirrels and then release them.  It just seems so wrong to me.  They can still help injured/orphaned greys and then arrange to keep them in captivity.

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"the belief about squirrel pox is unproven."  @Mz Terry  WIkipedia treats the subject like it is settled science:

 

"Squirrelpox virus is a virus that causes the fatal disease squirrelpox in United Kingdom red squirrels. The virus is often carried by grey squirrels from North America, which rarely die from the disease. Elsewhere in the Red Squirrel's European range, either the grey squirrel does not occur or it lacks the poxvirus." Wikipedia

  

This sounds like a controversial subject, perhaps it should be discussed in the Hot Box.  Here's my take   rant on squirrel welfare:

 

1) I don't think any squirrel should be hunted, @Marrow.  Killing a squirrel to save bird feed seems to value one specie's life over another.  Actually- I think you were just joking when you said that😃.

2)  There may not be room for both red and grey squirrels in the UK.  Grey squirrels are to the UK like rabbits are to Australia.  They are invasive, and you can't just kill them all. 

3) The release of any more greys into the wild should be prohibited since they are, indeed, invasive.  Even if they have been taken in and nurtured.  However.... 

4) People shouldn't be "rescuing"  squirrels or other wild animals.  Let nature take its course.  It is illegal here to capture and keep most wild animals, for whatever reason, without a permit or a license. 

5) Squirrels should not be trapped in trees and left there and left there to die, if this is indeed happening.  That is cruel, and traps cannot discriminate between a red and gray squirrel.

 

I'm probably wading to a subject I know far too little about, but I still have an opinion.

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@Muledeer there are many  licensed wildlife rescues in this country.  I have had my say on this topic, there is too much prejudice to be worth any more words.

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@Mz Terry I read the link you posted to the squirrel.info website.  I certainly lack an understanding of the red vs gray squirrel debate in the UK and the passionate views on both sides.   The whole concept of "wildlife rescue" is foreign to me.  I believe in Darwinism.  In my region, people are discouraged from handling or taking in wildlife.  Dealing with distressed animals is the job of our game wardens or park rangers or police.  Distressed animals can carry diseases, like rabies.   Nature is harsh and cruel and it is also amazing and beautiful at the same time.    Whenever I encounter a distressed or abandoned wild animal, I leave it alone, protect it from my curious dog, and let Nature take its course. 

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I got a good and pretty close look at a pileated woodpecker on my walk in the woods on Thursday.

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Yesterday on my walk I saw a large flock of geese flying in a W (or M) formation (or possibly two Vs combined?).

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I see quite a few woolly bear caterpillars crossing sidewalks and trails on my walks in the Fall.  They're pretty adorable to watch waddling along--so furry and cute!

 

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQmpgFl6T5Sgp1ZzBTAYIB

 

 

 

 

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23 hours ago, daveb said:

Yesterday on my walk I saw a large flock of geese flying in a W (or M) formation (or possibly two Vs combined?).

That's something I love to see. W, M Vs... looks great whatever it is. My kitchen window overlooks the garden and I keep looking out for the first redwing flock. They seem to fly in small groups of around 20 but maybe 'in' groups is the wrong word as the group is so loose. Same when they perch - together but not together. 

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24 minutes ago, Mizzletoe said:

Saw my first fieldfares of the winter today, feeding in the hedgerows.

Oh, I never heard of those before (too bad thrushes have such an unfortunate family name :P ).

 

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And today I saw the green woodpecker feeding on the ground in the park. :)  One of our most colourful birds.  It was so close I didn't need binoculars and could watch the way its head moved as it searched the soft ground for grubs.  The head is hinged onto the neck so that the bird isn't jarred by drumming into wood when feeding on trees.

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One of my favourite birds, @Mizzletoe. I see them in the garden a few times a year and one of the things I like is that they're not fazed by any of the other birds. They just give them a tough " Who are you looking at then ?" look and get on with eating ants. 

 

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Lovely if blustery birdwatch today.  Birds seen - bearded tits, marsh harriers, teal, golden eye, shovelers, great white egrets, grey heron, amongst many others.

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