Despite having large Oak trees front and back, we never had any squirrels visiting our garden. For nine years there were only birds seen on the grass, or on the shrubs. I used to think it was because of Ollie, and that he might have chased them away. Then next door got Alfie Cat, and he was often seen prowling under our large hedges.
There were many squirrels to be seen nearby on Beetley Meadows, so I wondered if they were reluctant to cross the road to our house, though it is hardly a ‘busy’ road.
Then one day recently, Julie spotted one sitting in the garden, eating a chunk of bread I had thrown out for the birds. He/she started to visit on a daily basis, so Julie bought some peanuts in shells for him/her.
When the squirrel started to sit on the fence separating our garden from our neighbour’s, the lady who lives next door went out and bought squirrel food. She placed it in small pots on top of the fence posts, and watched as the squirrel enjoyed a feast.
Recently, I began to leave a dish of bird seed out on a small garden table. That proved to be a big hit with the birds, and increased the numbers visiting our garden. Then I saw another squirrel picking up seeds that had fallen onto the grass and eating them, at the same time as the original (larger) squirrel was eating more bread six feet away.
Yesterday, a third squirrel appeared, and we had three feeding at the same time.
I have no way of knowing if the first two are a pair, and the new arrival a youngster they have reared. They could be unrelated, just taking advantage of the easy pickings.
But it is nice to finally have squirrels in the garden.
Such a sweet Story..
I like squirrel so much.
I find them very cute and innocent.
In my garden I find squirrels many times.
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Glad to hear that you like squirrels too.
Best wishes, Pete.
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So sweet.
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Thank you.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I am sure they are visiting Ollie. 😉 Even better as magpies, and for sure much funnier. Best wishes, Michael
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Ollie will chase them back up the tree if he sees them. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Wait on, some days they will chase him. Lol xx
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I love watching the squirrels in the morning they always put on a show for me before they go and have their breakfast from our fruit trees which we share with them 🙂 x
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These new visitors to our garden are not regular as yet. Since I cut the grass yesterday, they have not appeared. Probably less cover for them.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Our squirrels eat seeds from the ‘squirrel-proof’ bird feeder but they didn’t get the meal worms I put out yesterday for the robin. The magpie got there first but the redbreast did find some later. The squirels make holes in the lawn but it is only for recreation so we don’t mind.
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I watched one of the squirrels burying some peanuts in the grass. I don’t mind either, as it is not a ‘fancy’ lawn. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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We are lucky to have red, more like black, squirrels. Although I curse them every year for stealing all our hazelnuts. Then they are known as rats with bushy tails 🙂
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My dad used to call them ‘fluffy rats’. But they are something different to look at in the garden. 🙂
Cheers, Pete.
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We get red squirrels over here on the Island. At home grey ones make off with the suet balls I put out for the birds.
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I can’t remember the last time I saw a red squirrel, but I know it was in Scotland, in the 1980s.
Best wishes, Pete.
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They’re only on the Island now.
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We’ve always had squirrels here but this ear they seem to be here in hordes. Maybe because we have so much bird feed out? They – and the deer (!!) – seem to like that.
Have a great weekend,
Pit
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People here are saying it’s because of reduced human activity during the pandemic. Not sure about that, but it’s fun to see them.
Best wishes, Pete.
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It’s certainly fun to watch these cute little things. 🙂
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good for you, Pete. they are cute and fun to watch but can be rowdy sometimes 🙂
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These ones haven’t got rowdy yet, but I will watch out for that, Wilma. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I imagine they are very adorable but this almost reads like the beginning of a horror story. The week there were 15 of them. Two in the garage grabbing the car keys. The next day they started up the car and demanded at gunpoint we take them to the nearest pet food store. By months end they had taken over the house while we made weapons in the attic preparing for a final showdown with the 200 squirrels that had taken up our residence. 🙂
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Have you been watching this film, Lloyd?
https://mashable.com/2013/08/20/killer-squirrel-movie/?europe=true
Best wishes, Pete.
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Best wishes Pete. 🙂
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Link didn’t work but I appreciate the sentiment.
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How lovely to have squirrels in your garden, Pete. We also feed the birds but only during the winter. They eat all my fruit during the summer months.
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I don’t have anything that can be eaten or destroyed by birds and squirrels, so I am happy to feed them when they appear. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Squirrel’s are great entertainment. A few years back, we lived along a creek and had an abundance of oak trees in our back yard. It was a pure squirrel heaven. Winter came, and it was a hard one, so I fed the gang peanuts and fruit. One little female became friendly and would come to the patio door and peek in, begging for treats. I eventually was able to hand feed her, and at times, she would crawl into my lap and continue the mooching at close range. We now live in the country, in the rocky hills, and the surroundings are not as squirrel friendly. But, we have Roadrunners, Bobcats, possums, armadillos, coyotes, numerous venomous snakes, feral cats, feral hogs, feral dogs, feral people in pickups, a ton of birds including Hawks and Eagles, so I am quite happy to enjoy nature. I do miss my squirrels at times.
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You have the makings of a complete zoo on your doorstep, Phil. I do like Armadillos, and have never seen a real live one. As for the feral people in pickups, I am happy we don’t have any of those here. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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How lovely! 🙂
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It is something different to watch in the garden now, BB. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Congratulations. One of the squirrels entered our house yesterday and we had a hard time driving her out because squirrels can cause more destruction than rats. It was a cute one and my daughter jumped up and down all the time, later bragging about her bravado in the face of “danger”
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🙊😱
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Yeah, I know! Such a grave danger of facing a “giant squirrel” “romping around the house crushing people underfoot…”
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I have never seen a squirrel inside a house here. I didn’t know they were brave enough to ‘fight back’. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Well, that’s what my daughter feels
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It is obvious you are not a gardener Pete, otherwise you wouldn’t be encouraging the squirrels as they dig up lots of spring bulbs!
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You know that I am no gardener, Jude. I haven’t done anything except mow the lawn since I moved here 9 years ago! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete. x
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Squirrels provide hours of entertainment. Enjoy!
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All they do here at the moment is just sit and eat, Peggy. But it makes a change from watching the same birds.
Best wishes, Pete.
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We are more or less squirrel free as most of the trees here aren’t tall enough to be tempting. However, when I was in college, one of the favorite between-class recreations was feeding the squirrels on the Old Main Mall. They were so accustomed to human contact that they’d eat right out of your hand. Right now, I wouldn’t want a squirrel around to disturb the beautiful collection of birds at our feeders. But I’m glad you folks are enjoying them!
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Thanks, Angela. When I lived in London, the squirrels in the parks were very tame, and would eat out of your hand, even sit on your leg. They are not so bold here.
Best wishes, Pete.
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We had squirrels in our previous garden. They would come down from the trees, take a bite from the apples, pears and sweet cherries and then leave them to rot on the trees. They were unwelcome as they decimated the crop. Also as I am a dog, I had the duty to chase them out of the garden along with sitting at the door whining when I could see them but wasnt allowed to run around like a crazed fur after them.
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I have no fruit for them to spoil. But well done to you for doing your job! Tail wags. 🙂
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We put out birdseed in our garden every day. The squirrels love it. A couple of our feeders are off the ground—advertised as “squirrel proof.” I love watching their acrobatics as they try to scale the feeders and get to the goodies.
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Our food is much easier for them to get, so we get no aerobatics at the moment.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Squirrels are delightful creatures. It’s fun to see the way they play in the yard😊
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Ours never play, Taylor. They just stuff themselves, then run back up the tree. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Lol, 😂 that’s funny. I may sit some food out and see if the ones outside my home change.
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I love watching squirrels and their antics.🥰
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Our ones don’t do ‘antics’, Kim. They just grab the food and sit eating it! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Ours are cheeky little show offs!
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We. have a lot of Squirrels around our house in the hills – and a ton of birds as well…we have small geckos roaming around, and once in a while some deer will come down as well…last week, we saw for the first time a small field mouse scampering around…we decided to let it be!
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Field mice are good. Very different to ‘house mice’. I think field mice are very cute. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Beverly Hills has had rat problems in the past due to all of the swimming pools providing a nice source of water in hot, dry times…we’ve been pretty lucky in that regard, but did have to fish a few out of our pool over the years..luckily, this little guy isn’t one of those!
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I feed a lot of birds and squirrels devour everything in sight….at one point there were seven of them everyday and then MoMo started weeding out the herd…..now only one sometimes two visit but do not stay long. chuq
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Momo is a very effective squirrel deterrent, chuq. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Yes she is…as well as mouse, rat and mole deterrent….she enjoys the hunt…LOL chuq
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If an acorn-obsessed saber-toothed squirrel should ever be spotted in your garden, just name him Scrat and prepare yourself for an ice storm.
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I had to look that one up, David. I never watch Pixar! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Thanks for the link, David. Pixar is so artificially (CGI) annoying. I want cartoons back! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I love watching the squirrels. We used to have a lot more before the woods were razed in the back. We still have a few and I worry about them sometimes because of the mighty hunter who lives here.
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They seem to be avoiding Alfie Cat, and he has killed his share of large Wood Pigeons. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Feed them and they will come. Warmest regards, Theo
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I have a theory that it is because of the reduced ‘human activity’ during lockdowns. It has made them brave! 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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We have seen Peacocks walk on city’s busiest roads during lockdown. There was a day when atleast 40 mynas sat on one my roof railings even though our house is next to highway.
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We have lots and two kinds. The regular greys and the stroppy little Adirondack Red’s which are real characters. They sit in the bird feeder and they chase off the bigger greys. Peanuts are a favourite but then everyone wanted them, groundhogs, possums, skunks….so this year no peanuts till just before Winter when they need to boost energy!
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We don’t have groundhogs, possums, skinks, or raccoons. Other than squirrels, we only have hedgehogs, and a very occasional fox. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I love our squirrels too Pete, it’s fun in the morning I can see them from my bed, scampering through the yard, running across the roof, they are very playful. Makes me happy, C
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These ones are edgy and nervous, but they still come quite close to the house. If I go outside, they run back up into the big old Oak tree. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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I love watching them. What colour squirrels do you get in the UK?
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In this part of Britain, we only get grey ones now. But other places still have the rarer red ones. Sadly, the grey squirrels drove out most of our our original reds decades ago.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Interesting! We are very fortunate to have all three (and chipmunks) in our backyard. They provide house of entertainment.
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Chipmunks would be good. We don’t have that many ‘critters’ here in England. 🙂
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and by house I mean hours…
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I knew that. 🙂
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I’m afraid our dogs would go crazy if there were squirrels in our yard. They are cute though.
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Ollie would chase them if he could. But he can’t see them unless I open the back door, then they run up the tree anyway. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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My dogs try to climb the trees if they even think there is a squirrel in them. No squirrel is safe in a 100-meter radius!! Today Lia chased a plastic bag out of our yard. They are so funny.
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Such a beautiful story…🥰🥰
I always wanted to start friendship with squirrel. I like their look. It looks so cute when they eat a seed or biscuit, holding in their two hands. Their eyes and ears stay open, to be attentive.
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Yes, the way they eat is cute. In London parks, they are very tame, and will eat from your hand. But here in the countryside, they are more nervous.
Best wishes, Pete.
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The squirrels can be a nuisance here as we live on the edge of the woods and they descend on our bird feeders in large numbers. They also love to eat all my camellia flowers in the spring.
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I don’t mind them eating the bird seed, I have enough for everyone. I don’t have any ‘decent’ flowers of plants for them to eat either. I just like the variety in our small garden, an addition to the birds we are used to.
Best wishes, Pete.
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How lovely! Get that new camera out!!
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Julie went out with her phone, but they ran away when the back door opened. 😦
Best wishes, Pete.
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Stick it against the window 🙂
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The sink and worktop gets in the way. It’s quite a stretch to the kitchen windows. 🙂
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