Squirrels on the feeder

[foxdropper]

This morning I was in the hide by 06.30 The robins nesting near the hide were very agitated by something which turned out to be a pair of jays .I’ve never seen jay predation but this morning was an eye opener .The robins nest is in the end of a fallen branch ,rotten and hollow and is about 15 m from the side of the hide ,2 m off the ground .I watched the parents feed the chicks last time I was there ,almost wrapped up in that rather than why I was there .The robins were feeding bits of peanut from the feeder as well as worms etc gleaned from nearby and I was fascinated by the constant back and fourth .Today the nest was under attack by a pair of jays and not a thing I could do without breaking cover .I shouted which drove them away but as soon as it had calmed down they were back .Noisely , they teased the parents away until one flew back to steal a chick .
Part of me wanted to watch it play out whist the other half needed to put a stop to it .The first time I’ve not bothered with the cam corder as well
The hide even though only camo scrim ,dosnt allow for sideways shots so I had to watch .In my experience jays are very secretive but this pair was on mission to take the lot no doubt feeding chicks of their own .My Chance came when a jay landed in the tree where the feeder is and I shot it putting a stop to anymore predation today and hopefully saving the remaining chicks .
After that peace returned and the squirrels obliged with a steady stream to the feeder and I finished just before 12 on 15 mammalian nest robbers .

 

[foxdropper]

One of the squirrels had a paler tale than the rest

 

[foxhunter]

Cracking session that Tim , glad you got one of the jays.

 

[Sans Culottes]

I’ve been catching them in the pen using mark 4 fenn traps in wire mesh tunnels. For various reason I was late starting this year but got going a couple of weeks ago , and the two traps have caught most days. This morning when I went to the pen I put the Terkel in first as usual. He enjoys checking the traps and comes back to let know if we have caught anything. Today he set off for the other end of the pen. I left him to it and went to check the first trap, it was missing. The second trap was also missing. My initial thoughts were that someone had taken them, despite the pen being reasonably deep in the wood , and the traps well into the pen which is thick in undergrowth at this time of year. I checked the trailcam that looks at the pen gate, nothing. Teckel decided not to come to whistle, so I waded through the greenery to find him standing guard over the two traps, some 40 metres from where they were set, with just a squirrel head caught in each trap. The body and skeleton of each was gone. The pen is , as far as can tell, Charlie proof, and anyway he would probably not have been able to get the bodies out of the tunnels in such a “neat” way. So the question is what dragged the tunnels across the pen, and ate the dead squirrels leaving only their skulls in the jaws of the traps?

Any ideas please?

 

[shakey jake]

ferret, pole cat or buzzard

 

[Sans Culottes]

Thanks for your thoughts Skakey

Southern East Midlands, are there polecats here?
We have buzzards, but no canopy breaks at present, and traps found in pretty deep undergrowth.
Wild ferrets, are they common?

Expanding on your thoughts, a stoat maybe? We do have those, but I have not seen one in the woods.

 

[SussexSteve]

I think it’s my favourite shooting. With the help of a few mates we’ve taken over 200 out of one piece of woodland in a year

 

[Sans Culottes]

Another thought is maybe a mink?

 

[SussexSteve]

I think it’s my favourite shooting. With the help of a few mates we’ve taken over 200 out of one piece of woodland

 

[SussexSteve]

Another thought is maybe a mink?

Good chance it’s mink

 

[Sans Culottes]

Traps out in the morning. Have not set them "on dry land" before, only on the stream banks some 1000 metres from the pen. Let's see how we get on

 

[landkeeper]

I’ve been catching them in the pen using mark 4 fenn traps in wire mesh tunnels. For various reason I was late starting this year but got going a couple of weeks ago , and the two traps have caught most days. This morning when I went to the pen I put the Terkel in first as usual. He enjoys checking the traps and comes back to let know if we have caught anything. Today he set off for the other end of the pen. I left him to it and went to check the first trap, it was missing. The second trap was also missing. My initial thoughts were that someone had taken them, despite the pen being reasonably deep in the wood , and the traps well into the pen which is thick in undergrowth at this time of year. I checked the trailcam that looks at the pen gate, nothing. Teckel decided not to come to whistle, so I waded through the greenery to find him standing guard over the two traps, some 40 metres from where they were set, with just a squirrel head caught in each trap. The body and skeleton of each was gone. The pen is , as far as can tell, Charlie proof, and anyway he would probably not have been able to get the bodies out of the tunnels in such a “neat” way. So the question is what dragged the tunnels across the pen, and ate the dead squirrels leaving only their skulls in the jaws of the traps?

Any ideas please?

Rats

 

[foxdropper]

It’s got to be something large to drag squirrel and trap mate .We’re they pegged down .Was there signs of the squirrels being plucked and when you says only the head it sort of says a large carnivore as nothing else eats the lot bar the head .Rats leave the skin ,badgers are real messy eaters ,foxes clean eaters ,bird of prey would pluck hair and not eat the skin .My guess is your pen is maybe not so secure and one of the large predators has found your trap line .Won’t be the last so please post pics of what’s left next time Feral cat maybe up and over the pen .Stick a cam on a trap .

 

[Sans Culottes]

Trap not pegged. No signs of anything other than the heads in the traps jaws.
Will put a trail cam on the trap! Pictures of the culprit to follow ....hopefully

 

[foxdropper]

Interested to see what’s doing it mate

 

[shakey jake]

You do whatever you like mate .My conscience is clear .I’ve taken the wording literally as the GL states .

mate is a bit uncalled for