GREY SQUIRREL ....Sciurus caroliniensis

•  length - about 18 in., including 9 in. tail 
• weight - between 1 and 1 1/2 lbs., adult 
• colour - commonly salt and pepper, grizzled with tan hairs in body coat and white belly

Some live up to 10 years in the wild although most only manage 3-4 years.

 

The grey squirrel was introduced to Great Britain in the mid-19th century and after many releases it began to increase dramatically at the beginning of this century, mainly spreading from Woburn Park, Bedfordshire. It is now one of Britain's most well-known and frequently seen mammals, being much more common than the native red squirrel.

Squirrels have good eyesight and often sit upright on a vantage point to look around them. They have a keen sense of smell too!

The grey squirrel builds itself a nest, or drey, about the size of a football, made of twigs, often with the leaves still attached. It is built fairly high in a tree and lined with dry grass, shredded bark, moss and feathers. A summer drey is usually quite flimsy and lodged among small branches. Sometimes the squirrel may make its nest in a hollow trunk or take over a rook's nest, constructing a roof for it. A squirrel may build several dreys.

Although grey squirrels have a wide range of calls, they communicate mainly through their tails, using them as a signalling device; they twitch their tails if they are uneasy or suspicious. Regular routes are scent-marked with urine and glandular secretions. Squirrels identify each other, and food, by smell.

During the autumn months you might see squirrels burying nuts and acorns. They do this to provide for the winter months when food is more scarce. They can usually find the buried food again by using their strong sense of smell.

Sitting on the wall under the feeder