Squirrel Numbers Are Going Nuts

As the name suggests most Grey Squirrels are grey, however some may have a reddish brown tinge, whilst others can be black and a small number are white.

Greys, which have replaced the native Red Squirrels in most of England and Wales, are bigger than Red and do not have tufty ears. These are resourceful animals and keeping them away from bird food can be a bit of a battle. Natural foods range from shoots, leaves, seeds and nuts through to birds' eggs and young. Although not as active in the winter-time, Grey Squirrels do not hibernate. If you see a Squirrel digging holes in your lawn it may well be using its sensitive nose to seek out acorns and peanuts that have been buried by your local Jays. Grey Squirrels are not native to the UK (and they are certainly not birds) but BTO volunteers still count them as part of annual monitoring schemes such as Garden BirdWatch. According to government figures from 1995, the estimated number of Grey Squirrels was 2.5 million. We think that the number has gone up by 50% since then. That means that there are more Grey Squirrels than Song Thrushes in the UK, and that they outnumber Sparrowhawks by about 40 to 1. When you see how cleverly they can find their ways into bird feeders, it's not surprising that they are so successful.