Thursday 8 June 2017

CEDAR CHASE IN FIRS CHASE

The squirrel feeder in the Firs Chase garden was popular in the early evening of Wednesday 7th with three red squirrels visiting in the space of forty minutes. Of interest was this male squirrel which hasn't been seen here before, being more uniform colouration on the main body and a sparser tail near the base, than the usual male that visits each day. Although it's not clear in this photo, from a front view, this individual clearly had the parts low down of a male!

While the male was feeding, this presumed female came down the cedar tree and was immediately chased round and round the trunk by the male in a very aggressive and territorial fashion. After a minute of frantic chasing, the male backed off and climbed up the tree disappearing up and over Firs Chase, leaving the female to feed peacefully for five or so minutes.

After the feed on the nuts, the squirrel reached up and had a quick gnaw of the antler fixed above the nut-feeder.

Half an hour after the female disappeared, a third squirrel arrived down the trunk, pausing to have a drink of water before feeding on the nuts. This is one of the regular youngsters with the long ear tufts that visits each day.

Elsewhere in West Mersea, a red squirrel was seen beside the Colchester Road near the end of Mill Road early on Thursday 8th by Jeanella Potter. The squirrel seemed to be wondering whether to cross the busy road while all the traffic sped past.

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