Don't mind if I do!

Have a Nutty Christmas

Merry Christmas to squirrels everywhere...

"LOOK into my eyes..."

Look into my eyes, human. Fix your gaze upon mine. You are feeling generous...very generous...you wish to give me brazil nuts..."

From further afield 4: "Squirrel's acorn stash causes car breakdown at farm"

From the BBC, another tale of squirrel 'move any mountain' behaviour, akin to that witnessed by the South London bard, Nigel of Bermondsey (see entry Tuesday 22nd March 2011). A Hampshire squirrel managed to create a hoard of about 200 acorns inside a car's air pipe, as discovered by an AA patrol man called out to the scene... "I don't know how many acorns a squirrel can move an hour, but there must have been 200 in there."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-15653667

Straight outta Surrey

Less illin', more chillin' - behaviour observed in Richmond, TW10...



(artistic impression, courtesy of Ms J.S.)

Now.... Where did I put that nut?

The Four Noble Squirrel Truths

Get nut
Dig hole
Bury nut
Cover with leaves





[thanks to Mr S for the tip]

From little acorns...

...oak trees grow. *thinks* Can I grow myself a peanut tree?

It takes a borough of magpies to hold us back

The Hackney squirrel crew rolls deep; check Miss Emily's photos of one of my bredrins here ...
We are everywhere!

London squirrel heeds police riot advice

Stay Off Streets ... Safer In Park... with a nut

Euston Squirrel

Finding a quiet spot away from the hustle and bustle of commuters, Euston Squirrel earns his crust... and eats it quick

From further afield 3 : squirrel vs. Lamborghini

'Talk about precision steering. If the average Californian navigated the road as well as this little fella, the 405 would be a much better place.

Video here

But is the video real?

"It's 100 percent authentic," says Elie Rothstein, one of the owners of Al & Ed's Autosound, which put on the event. "We had cameras set up all over the track to get footage on our drivers. Only a couple days later do we see this. And I was like, 'What?!' It blows your mind."

What blows our mind is that the squirrel, by the looks of it, was more or less OK. "Thankfully the squirrel did not die," Rothstein says. "We were just shocked. He made it."'

[Thanks to Ms. A for the tip]

On my manor

... I make the rules

The lesser known light brown squirrel

... objet d'art for sale in DIY chainstore

Got any Northern Soul rarities in here then?

... I can flog 'em down the market

Why the long face?

Mother squirrel's desperation and persistence pays off

"This happened to an ex-colleague. She was renovating her house that Summer. There was a hole in the wall where the fire place used to be in her bedroom until it was plastered up after about two weeks open.

The night after the builders had finished their work she heard crying and scratching at her window at around 3 am in the morning. She looked out but couldn’t see anything. [shades of 'Wuthering Heights'?]

This happened for three consecutive nights. On the fourth night the wailing and scratching was so intense she opened the window and this huge female squirrel came bursting through. It leapt onto her bed gesturing wildly. She didn’t understand what was going on. The squirrel mother then started wailing and scratching furiously at the plastered fire place. As it was around 3 am the streets were quiet and she was able to detect a faint, whimpering response. She realised there were baby squirrels trapped behind the newly plastered wall.

She was able to break them out with one of the workman’s tools left behind. There was a litter of about four or five baby squirrels rescued that night and she was able to feed and water them.

This was around Summer 2002."

Squirrelic Revelation

And yea, a great voice called out from on high: “Heed ye my nut commandments”

Nut Commandment Number One: Hide Your Nuts.

Errr... that’s it. What, you want ten? I’m only a squirrel you know.

I'll 'ave that

"Hmm, how thoughtful - some birdseed left here specially for the little blue tits and chaffinches - I'M 'AVING THAT"

Oi!

Who are you lookin' at?

Amazing tale of squirrel's determination

Eye-witness report sent to us by South London bard, Nigel of Bermondsey, complete with diagram:

"Last November I witnessed an extraordinary feat of squirrel strength and determination.  My landlord placed 3 large crates of walnuts in the yard of the studio building I rent a space in. Over the space of a week a single squirrel relentlessly shuttled all the walnuts out of the crates and out of the yard into the outside world. It did not appear to stop for rest: I work long hours and this squirrel seemed to have had an excellent work ethic. Over the course of the week the squirrel went from being timid and surprised at its windfall to being fearless and territorial. It would not back away from people as it continued its mission. And then, once the walnuts were gone, so was the squirrel. I like to think that its find has gone down in legend amongst the local rodents and the tale of the kings ransom of walnuts is told around campfires for years to come."

 

Thanks Nigel. This squirrel's persistence and grit deserves to be commemorated - perhaps with a small plaque made of walnut shells?

Amoungst the detritus of the everyday London street...

... an icon. What can the urban squirrel gather from the Essex Road? That humans are filthy beasts.

Does my arse look big in this pic?

How to make a squirrel feel self-conscious

Squirrels in Sport - 1st of an occasional series

Arsenal vs. Villareal, Champions League semi-final 1st leg, 2006

The game is interrupted by by a squirrine pitch invader, whose turn of pace proved too quick even for Thierry Henry. Quizzed about the interloper after the game, Arsene Wenger commented on the grey rodent's footballing skills: “He was fast and a good dribbler.” Time to get the chequebook out, Arsene?

Squirrel re-enacts iconic Steve McQueen footage

 Our correspondent, Mr S, sent us this frankly ear-raising photo, and reports that he saw this be-furred 1%-er, outlaw motorcyclist riding along the Euston Road, indeed,riding roughshod over Health & Safety concerns (note absence of crash helmet).

Now, watch very closely, ladies and gentlemen...

Is the nut under my left paw, or my right paw? Left paw or right paw?

I want to be alone

Snapped in Kensington Palace Gardens last year by one of our correspondents, who writes:
"He was very bold and seemed quite irritable - chattering and cursing at us. Probably sick of being papped by tourists :)"

Thanks to Mr. C.

Squirrel celebrates Bunhill Fields getting Grade I protected status

Bring me my nuts of desire... 

From further afield 2...

Belarussian squirrel feels the love

The Gatekeeper

Gatekeeper,  Brompton Cemetery, London

From further afield...

Guarding the ancestors in a Split cemetery

In the Boneyard

An afternoon walk through a West London cemetery - and an encounter with a brazenly bold, bone-munching squirrel.

KFC? Perhaps...

Window dressing

A recent visitor to a North London address evinced disdain for apple cores left outside overnight, but was eager to consume birdseed and mixed nuts. Attempts by the house occupants to persuade the squirrel to dance - Northern Soul style - to a Major Lance compilation CD, proved a failure. This was presumably because of Health & Safety concerns, since the windowsill is clearly too narrow for backdrops and spins.

Hackney bad man squirrel crew

Hackney squirrels seem to display unique and menacing behaviour, compared, that is, to their cousins in Central London parks and gardens, and with those of Hampstead Heath.

The polite and tourist-pleasing squirrels of, for example, Russell Square, are happy to pose for photos in exchange for nuts. Bold enough to run up the leg, they nevertheless behave in a manner seemingly in keeping with their genteel Bloomsbury location.

Those of Hampstead Heath, however, spurn the human hand which profers the nut, running away to the safety of the tree. Perhaps their wariness and lack of people-pleasing skills may be attributed to the proliferation of dogs on the Heath, together with an ample supply of foragable food rendering a reliance on human benefactors unnecessary.

Hackney squirrels, by contrast, display a menacing 'hoodie' pack mentality, patroling their park 'endz' in an eight- or nine-strong 'crew.'  Some London Squirrel observers report being surrounded; whilst one or more squirrels captivate the observer's attention with amusing antics, others sneak up behind the observer in a covert manner. 

Other correspondents claim to have seen one individual making 'gang signs' with its elongated claws.  

Chill-out zone

A recent visit to a Hackney park saw the discovery of  a squirrel 'chill-out zone'. Here they relax in the sunshine and relative quiet, recharging their rodential batteries after a manic "up-the-tree-down-the-tree chase-me-spiral-style" half hour.

The individual pictured here has managed to find a comfortable bed, with snacks (in the form of berries) attached.