Sweet or not?!

[Jacquiht]

He's very sweet but not really welcomed by the others!

[NightHawk]

Ah, the much maligned grey squirrel.  You either love them or hate them.

An extract from the BBC web site more or less sums up the main reasons for disliking them -

Grey squirrels are notorious for displacing red squirrels in European woodlands. They out-compete the native reds for food, feeding more at ground level and being able to digest acorns, which the reds can't. They also carry a deadly pox virus which does not affect them. Grey squirrels were introduced to the UK from the USA in the late 19th or early 20th century. They're now widespread throughout England south of Cumbria and Wales, and common in local pockets in Scotland. They are absent from the rest of mainland Europe, except for small localised populations in Italy.

Decide for yourself.

Jacqui, good to see you've got the hang of posting photos 

Laurie.

[Jacquiht]

Thank you Laurie - with your help!
Did you know that Red squirrels are going to be re-introduced into the West of Cornwall in the near future?

[NightHawk]

That re-introduction will be fantastic Jacqui.  Thanks for mentioning that

Kathy and I are very interested in all wildlife so this is great news for us.

As far as I recall they are only in very scattered areas at the moment.  I think Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour is one, Northumberland is another, Isle of Wight? (not too certain) and some areas of Scotland.

Brownsea Island is the closest to where we live, a place we've not been to before, so we plan a visit there very soon.

We'll keep a close check on Springwatch and Autumnwatch for any news on the red squirrel status.

Laurie.

[Jacquiht]

 ;)You might like to read this:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/conservation/8917696/Why-Jane-Rice-wants-to-save-the-red-squirrel.html

(one of my neighbours!)

[ideasguy]

Really good work there Jane!
Its wonderful to hear of people who actually do something to help the environment. All too often its the opposite

[NightHawk]

Kudos to Jane.

We need more high profile people to get involved in such projects to bring these issues centre stage, and hopefully to get the organisations that are able to do something about it to make it happen.

Laurie.