Grey squirrel Dreys?

[Acipiter]

Can anyone tell me if these are all dreys. They are all in the same piece of wood, that I walk through every day. I am as sure as one can be that they are, but if they are, why do some of them look different, is it something to do with the fact that some are summer dreys and some are winter. Thank you.

[Fauna]

Hi Acipiter...

Most of these are bird nest (most likely crow and magpie). You will regularly find grey squirrels building dreys inside these sort of nests.

The last two of your photos look more typical to that built by Squirrel.

Hope this helps?

Regrads Chris...

[Acipiter]

If they are birds nests, you would have thought I would have seen "something" being as I walk through the wood ever day. These dreys/ nests where "never ever" occupied by any birds anyway.

[Acipiter]

Having had a bath and given the old brain box more thought, it may help if I fill you all in with few more details. The first two photos are the same one taken from front and back. This is in a very tall beech probably 5oft up, its made with very small twigs. The next is about 20 ft up in quite a small tree, there are 2 more of these in the same tree. The next is a repeat of the last, again 3 dreys/nests. All of these are very close to one another just a few yds apart, accept the first one which stands on its own. There are only one pair of c/crows nesting here, and these always nest well away on the other side of the estate every year.

[Za]

To me, the ones with leaves in the structure look like dreys, and the ones with a "defensive wall" at the top look like magpie nests.
Za

[Fauna]

Originally Posted by Za

To me, the ones with leaves in the structure look like dreys, and the ones with a "defensive wall" at the top look like magpie nests.
Za

Yes, three are deffinetly magpie and last two have deffinetly been built by squirrel.


I've never seen a grey squirrel build its own nest out of heavy stick, like you would see in a crow, magpie etc type nest. They will regularly build dreys inside bird nests, and on occasion birds build their nests on top of dreys. Some drey/bird nests can switch between users for many seasons as long as the drey/nest as not fallen to much into "disrepair".

There is a local Buzzard that two seasons ago raised three chicks on top of an active Squirrel drey...

I've spent a lot of time around grey squirrels, and have found them nesting in some curious places (for a grey that is). I've even had them in a large rock pile in the middle of a field.

Regards Chris...

[Acipiter]

Thanks lads, the last 2 are definitely dreys I know that, how about the first one? the leaves you can see are wind blown in, and what's left of the leaves on the tree, and were never part of the structure.