Tail of a grey squirrel, February 2013…
This is a common view from my kitchen sink – the bird table is right outside the window and the grey squirrels (Latin name Sciurus carolinensis) like to dangle from it to eat peanuts or sunflower seeds out of the bird feeders. Sometimes they just hug the feeder and suck, so they get through an awful lot of the birds’ food.
They are rodents and some people call them “tree rats” and I think the above picture shows that beneath all that fluff they have a skinny, ratty tail. I took a similar picture in June last year but it doesn’t show this so well…
Grey squirrel’s tail in June 2012…
The Latin name for the squirrels genus, Sciurus, comes from two Greek words, skia, meaning shadow, and oura, meaning tail, referring to a squirrel’s habit of sitting in the shadow of its tail. The carolinensis part of the grey squirrel’s name comes from North and South Carolina, where the species was first recorded.
Grey squirrels were introduced into England at the turn of the 19th/20th century and soon spread to Wales and lowland Scotland. They drove out the red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris), which are smaller and less robust. The reds can’t cope as well with habitat loss and die if infected with Parapoxvirus, which greys can carry without harm to themselves. Grey squirrels are classed as pests in the UK and it is illegal to release one back into the wild if you trap one. It must be killed humanely.
This lovely picture of a ‘cute’ red squirrel is by RedR on Wikimedia Commons – click on the image to go to the source…
The red squirrel survives only on islands of England and Wales such as Anglesey (north Wales) and Brownsea Island (in Poole Harbour, Dorset). There’s a very good map showing the reds’ decline on this Garden of Eaden blog post.
I see “our” grey squirrels every day, although I can’t claim to recognise them individually. I once had the idea of calling two of them Dangler and Catchpole because of their eating habits – one reached up from under the bird table instead of hanging around – but to be honest they all dangle now. There is one – and I think only one – that stands up like a meerkat with its little paws across its chest. It seems to do this to listen.
Our grey squirrel(s) sometimes take(s) up this pose, demonstrated here by a meerkat (Suricata suricatta) – pictured at a German zoo by Fritz Geller-Grimm
There must have been a change of personnel over the years, as I have watched the squirrels for so long. They live for about 12 or 13 years – although up to two decades in captivity. Does my garden count as captivity?
Squirrel in summer – does this one look a bit grizzled and old to you? June 2011…
We always have two or three squirrels around. If we have four – or very occasionally five – I start to panic about being eaten out of house and home. I once found a dead squirrel, killed by a cat, but it didn’t seem to be one of our “regulars”.
Here are some pictures of our squirrels taken in various seasons over several years…
Grey squirrel in snow – January 2010…
Grey squirrel framed by holly – January 2010…
Although grey squirrels are said to be creatures of the dawn and dusk, ours are pretty active all day unless the weather is hot and they take a siesta. They also don’t hibernate, so we have no respite from them eating the birds’ peanuts.
Grey squirrel and water bowl – February 2010…
I wrote a blog post in February 2011 when I noticed the squirrels stripping bark from the ash trees, for their nests. See it here. The damage exposes the pith of the branches and blue tits suck sap from the bare patches.
Grey squirrel with damaged ash tree bark – February 2011…
Grey squirrels build a nest or “drey” from dry leaves and twigs, in the fork of a tree or a hollow in a trunk, but the structures are not, I think, quite as big and wonderful as those of their red cousins. Males and females may share a nest when mating and get together in one nest to stay warm during winter cold spells. Apparently they may also settle in attics and cause damage by chewing electrical cables.
Sadly this picture of a grey squirrel drey in an ash tree is not one of mine! The image is by Rosser1954 on Wikimedia Commons…
They breed twice a year, with litters usually born in February to March, and June to July. There are usually two to six in each litter and the young are weaned at seven weeks and ready to leave the nest at 10 weeks.
In summer there is always at least one squirrel (very clearly a mother) that I call Titty! I haven’t counted properly, but there are either six or eight teats.
I have never seen a baby squirrel alive – although one year I found a young one curled up and dead in the top of a drain vent in the yard, perhaps poisoned, or perhaps starved, having gone there to keep warm?
Grey squirrel in spring, clearly showing its white front – April 2010…
Same squirrel with an itch – April 2010…
The grey squirrel is one of very few mammals that can go down a tree – or wall, or fence – head-first. It turns its feet around so the claws are pointing in the right direction to get a grip.
Upside-down squirrel in summer – June 2010…
When one of the squirrels is literally “up the wall”, high up, it makes a loud staccato squawking noise that sound to me like an alarm call, but I may be wrong. Squirrels also twitch their tails a lot as a signal, but I can’t read their semaphore.
The same squirrel – June 2010…
I get the impression that the squirrel doesn’t have very good eyesight, but the scientists say it has very good sight – which it clearly needs to leap from branch to branch. The eyes are high on the head, which gives a wide field of view so that the squirrel doesn’t need to turn its head or even move its eyes.
Maybe that’s why, when it pokes its nose at the kitchen window, I feel I am not getting eye contact with it – as it is looking steadily at a wide area, rather than examining my face…
Squirrel appearing to be blind as a bat (as always) – June 2012…
Squirrel taking a drink – July 2011…
Squirrel acquiring a taste for raisins – October 2012…
Squirrel among late autumn leaves – November 2012
Squirrel in snow – December 2010…
Rather flat upside-down squirrel – December 2010…
Grey squirrels may be classed as “pests”, but I wouldn’t want to lose them and their entertaining ways. Just like urban foxes and seagulls…
The Squirrelbasket 
Possibly not the best day to praise urban foxes after the (alleged) Bromley attack on a baby http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/bromley-fox-attack-police-investigate-after-baby-has-finger-ripped-off-8488674.html.
Grey squirrels are said to have a maximum litter size of 8 with an average of 3 or 4 so it’s likely that they will have 4 teats. Mammal teats (including homo sapiens) number double the average and around the maximum litter size.
I posted before the fox-attack news. But I am not changing my blog because of a sudden scare.
It could be that in some cities foxes do need some control (perhaps by contraception – no obvious jokes, please…) All I know is that in our particular garden foxes are natural, as we are next to a park. And I would never feed them.
As for the teats, there were DEFINITELY at least six! I can count that far…
This year I must get a picture of that – and the squirrel doing its meerkat impression.
Best wishes and thanks for the Tweet you sent out 🙂
Of course I didn’t expect you to change the post, I was just posting out the coincidental nature of events.
I don’t know what happened to my thought process or maths ability (or possibly typing skills) when I wrote that:
“Grey squirrels are said to have a maximum litter size of 8 with an average of 3 or 4 so it’s likely that they will have 4 teats. Mammal teats (including homo sapiens) number double the average and around the maximum litter size.”
If average is 3-4 and normal maximum is 78, and we know that teats number double the average and close to the maximum excluding outlier stats – then the conclusion should have been grey squirrels will have have 6-8 teats as you say. I know a man who will know for sure – he is a biology/conservation lecturer and the Glamorgan County Recorder for mammals, not a squirrel-nipple obsessive – so I’ll check with him
I’m impressed by your maths! Meanwhile I will keep my camera at the ready to snap a full-frontal shot of the lady squirrel in question when spring comes!
Best wishes 🙂
Hi Pat. As usual, a lovely post thankyou. Your pics of the squirrels are wonderful with so much expression.Im still trying to get some pics of red squirrels for my book without much luck. They are all copyrighted on the net. Wish I could draw them myself. Take care looking forward to more of your posts.
Thank you for the comment.
Have you tried to find an amateur (or student) artist who would be willing to draw you something just for having their name mentioned in print?
Best wishes 🙂
We saw two squirrels building their dray on our local common about three weeks ago now. Our dog loves to chase them and just the mere mention of ‘squizzer’ has ears pricked and eyes alert …
Fabulous post and wonderful photos Pat.
Squizzer, what a great word!
My squirrels are still at the stage of chasing the lady squirrels around the trees, but hopefully nesting will follow.
I wonder which has more chance of actually CATCHING a squirrel, a cat or a dog? The cats here give up very easily…
Have a good day 🙂
Your photos are awesome..thank you for sharing..here in Florida the squirrels are really pretty ” ratty” looking..compared to up north, where there are grey,red and black squirrels and they are almost always plump and look well groomed..We even had an Albino one living in our horse barn years ago..he was around for about 6 years, then just disappeared..and our barn cats never chased or bothered him..( proven male)..have an great day…
An albino squirrel sounds fascinating – although I am wondering how you proved it was a male!
It’s funny to think our greys are American at heart…
Best wishes and have a great day 🙂
I am a squirrel watcher (as well as birds) from way back, though my labs all seem to consider any squirrel to be their personal nemesis. I finally ended up putting out dried corn to try to draw the squirrels away from the bird seed, and then my current lab keeps watch and considers it his job to run the squirrels off. He has treed them and kept them there for quite a while with the squirrels scolding and glaring down at him (I have great pictures). Living around the Midwest U.S.A., I have seen very large American red squirrels (not your tufted eared ones), smaller grey squirrels and one that was actually all silver (not quite albino) who hung around for 3 or 4 years then disappeared. I imagine silver fur is not quite as good camouflage. And then there are ground squirrels, or chipmunks, in the mix too.
Love your blog, it gives me a lovely peek at nature in Great Britain. Your photos are gorgeous. I like the word etymology posts as well.
Cindy
Thank you for all your kind comments and your interesting stories/advice!
If only I had the time and space for a labrador as a guard, that might save me on the birdfood bill!
So I guess your big red squirrels must be these pine squirrels? It’s interesting that they are classified as different from the other squirrels, as they look very similar.
It’s funny how we consider chipmunks to be cute but squirrels are pests. I blame the cartoonists! I was about to say I have never seen a squirrel as a cartoon character, but then I remembered Tufty Fluffytail – he was a red, though…
Best wishes 🙂
An enjoyable post with great photos. I thought the ones of the “standing” squirrel and the squirrel in snow were particularly fine. We have red squirrels on Vancouver Island, but they are reclusive and seem to avoid the cities, where there are lots of grey squirrels. The greys have been imported, just like Scotch broom, which seems to be taking over the south Island. We live in an area with many Garry oak trees and can watch the antics of the grey squirrels from our front windows. My daughter claims that they dig up her tulip bulbs and then bury them somewhere else, so she has tulips blooming in unexpected places.
Thank you for your kind words.
I know what your daughter means about the tulips. I have given up on them. Here the squirrel doesn’t rebury them but totally destroys them. And it’s addicted to burying peanuts. I try to tell it that there will be more along later, so it doesn’t need to panic, but it doesn’t listen…
I wonder if the reclusive reds on Vancouver Island are like our reds – very timid…
Best wishes 🙂
You must spend hours at your kitchen window to get such good shots. We have only had one year where squirrels visited they obviously didn’t like our choice of nuts and decided to visit you instead.
Count yourself lucky they didn’t like your nuts!
And although I spend hours at the kitchen sink, preparing vegetables or washing up, most of the pictures are taken from upstairs, where I keep a camera on my desk while I am working (or playing) on my computer. I am actually very impatient when it comes to photography and I am just a snapshotter (or is that snapshooter?)
Best wishes 🙂
My late friend was a wildlife rehabber with a specialty in rabbits, squirrels and bats…she said that most squirrels die their first year due to cars, or starvation (not at your house or mine) and I can’t remember how long she said they live….interesting post..Michelle
Not sure if you DID mean cars and starvation or cats and starvation. I guess both cats and cars can be fatal to the dear little things!
Best wishes 🙂