Wednesday, 8 June 2016

Red vs. Grey

Recently I've noticed a small animal running up and down the squirrel highway that is along the top of the back fence. At first I thought he (or she) was a large chipmunk, but it's definitely a red squirrel. I was surprised, as I've never seen a red squirrel on my deck before. So I put out some stale bread as a temptation. The offering was accepted.


Usually I see the eastern grey squirrels which are so much larger. And greedier. And obnoxious. And they come in black fur model too. And they also appreciate a snack of stale bread.

This particular grey squirrel has become addicted to drinking sugar water out of my hummingbird feeder, and making such a mess that wherever I hang the feeder, somehow this squirrel manages to hang upside down to drink the water, spilling most of it in a sticky puddle. The poor hummingbirds don't get a chance.
When I've been on the deck drinking my early morning coffee, I've seen a hungry fox lurking, so those sugar addicted squirrels better watch out or they'll be a fox's dinner.

10 comments:

  1. There seem to be more sightings in suburban areas. I have seen one in our town -- once.

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  2. Oooh.
    What a treat to see.
    Colour me jealous. Squirrels AND hummingbirds? I am fond of foxes too, but do occasionally see them.

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  3. We get many grey squirrels and rabbits in our garden, but I've never seen a red squirrel. We also get squirrels in our loft, which I'm afraid get killed with rat poison!

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  4. Cute red squirrel! But I like the grey one, too. I used to see squirrels all the time when we lived in San Jose, but never ever since we moved to SF.
    Catch a photo of that fox if you can!

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  5. Fattening them up for a foxes dinner! Shame on you!

    Over here, the grey squirrels (which were brought over here from USA, have decimated the red ones as they carry a deadly virus that the reds have no immunity to.
    So we only get small pockets of reds in isolated parts of England. I believe Scotland has the most.
    They're cute.
    Maggie x

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  6. I like that first guy! Well, I like the 2nd guy, too, but they can be pesky. We have most skinny little rodents with skinny little tails - a poor imitation of squirrels - down here. But we also have fox squirrels which are usually black and tan with long bodies and long, very bushy tails. When you see one running you'd swear it was a fox.

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  7. That's why I stopped having a hummingbird feeder and a bird feeder too.
    It attracted yellow jacket bees that drove the hummers away and critters liked to spill the water creating a huge mess.
    The seed from the bird feeder was an open invitation to the rats and mice.
    So now I just enjoy everything vicariously.

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  8. All we have here are red squirrels. In town they have some grays. They say the grays are tastier (no thanks!).

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  9. What a lovely surprise to have a squirrel on your deck!
    How cute she ou he is!

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