Grey Squirrel with chestnut

[colincurry]

I took this series this afternoon with my granddaughter in mind.

However, they are quite charming and I thought I would offer them.

The squirrel was about 20 feet ahead of us on a grassy farmtrack, darting to and fro and then finally disappearing into the undergrowth.

I think it has a conker - aren't they poisonous, to humans at least?









Colin

[Hedge Witch]

Interesting question. I found this on the Internet, not sure if it's true:

In Britain the main animals that eat and store conkers are squirrels.

Lovely shots!

[RobSutton]

Aren't the World Conker Championships due to be held shortly - that's where he's off to.

[nye24]

I class the grey squirrel as the north american tree rat,and nothing more,they have pushed out our native red squirrel,which at one time were in great numbers in the uk,now there are just small pockets dotted around the uk were they thrive under our protection.Also they rob bird nests which is just another reason why some of our garden and woodland birds are in such decline.Also to they carry squirrel pox which our reds are not immune to.So really there just bad news to our british wildlife

[colincurry]

Originally Posted by nye24

I class the grey squirrel as the north american tree rat,and nothing more,they have pushed out our native red squirrel,which at one time were in great numbers in the uk,now there are just small pockets dotted around the uk were they thrive under our protection.Also they rob bird nests which is just another reason why some of our garden and woodland birds are in such decline.Also to they carry squirrel pox which our reds are not immune to.So really there just bad news to our british wildlife

Nye

I understand where you are coming from.

I can only snap what's there.

My granddaughter likes them and despite their reputation, they are visually appealing.

Mind you, I am a parvenu Saxon but my passport is in order

Colin

[nye24]

I'm sorry if you thought i laid it on a bit thick,i im sorry,i just want people to understand what damage these critters can do,nice pic's though

[SquirrelFan]

Originally Posted by nye24

I class the grey squirrel as the north american tree rat,and nothing more,they have pushed out our native red squirrel,which at one time were in great numbers in the uk,now there are just small pockets dotted around the uk were they thrive under our protection.Also they rob bird nests which is just another reason why some of our garden and woodland birds are in such decline.Also to they carry squirrel pox which our reds are not immune to.So really there just bad news to our british wildlife

Squirrels are not rats (not that there's anything wrong with rats). Ask your teacher if you don't believe me! And there are lots of reasons for the demise of reds, like loss of habitat and the mass cull of the 20th century. And, sorry if this shocks you, many animals prey on birds/eggs like cats and other birds.Some quotes from 'The Predation of Wild Birds in the UK' ...

"the Repeat Woodland Birds Survey (RWBS) – which investigated changes in bird numbers over 20 years on more than 400 woodland sites in the UK – concluded that the most likely cause was changes in woodland structure"

"review of the impacts of the introduced grey squirrel on birds in the UK (Hewson et al. 2004) found only anecdotal evidence to suggest that they were major predators of birds"

"population changes of the great majority (33 out of 35) of woodland bird species were apparently unaffected by squirrels"

You just sound like somebody who lives in a Beatrix Potter fantasy world where all animals lived happily together until horrible foreigners came along!

[mbaldw]

I think it has a conker - aren't they poisonous, to humans at least?

They are indeed toxic to humans - they contain a bitter-tasting glycosidic poison called aesculin, which breaks down blood proteins. Squirrels (and deer, for that matter) do seem partial to conkers. I've seen squirrels carrying conkers around in my local park, but I've never seen them eat them and I'd always assumed that they were cached. At the time, I thought it might be a 'back-up' plan; that they'd eat the conkers if they exhausted all their other, more palatable, caches (as foxes do with certain vole species). However, I'm wondering whether they eat them frequently and the same (or similar) mechanism that allows them to bind and excrete polyphenols -- the biochemistry that allows them to deal with acorns better than Reds -- also helps them deal with this (and other) toxic plant material. Alternatively, it could be that burying the nut may cause some of the toxin to leach out over time.

Anyway, nice shots Colin.

Cheers,
Marc.

[derelict]

Squirrels do eat conkers but they are hellishly wasteful - it's not uncommon to find piles of partially-eaten nuts lying under trees for months. Their preference is to expertly chew out the shoot/coleoptile and leave the rest for later. I don't know whether exposure to the air in any way denatures the chemicals but they do go to some lengths to peel the entire nut, and eventually the contents (which look like little chewed brains) disappear, presumably into a squirrel. Unless of course there are deer around...




I do have a clip of a stunt squirrel eating a chestnut which I will endeavour to upload to TouTube at some point. It took about 5 minutes as I recall... but it was a small stunt squirrel ... and a large conker

[Dutchess]

'Don't know about your granddaughter Colin, but those pictures certainly made me smile!

Whatever else they get up to, squirrels - both red and grey - do have the "ahh" factor in buckets and greys in particular are very photogenic, even seeming to enjoy posing for the camera

Yes, I have noticed they will nibble on a fallen horse-chestnut (conker) and then move on to another. Maybe like a kid in a sweet shop at this time of year, they are spoilt for choice.

D.