Red Squirrels at Formby

[Paul D]

Yep, there were loads of 'em

Was it busy or did you get to hand feed a few?

[Kev]

we got very close to a few, cheeky little buggers they are they dont hang about.

[FKoE]

Brother said she actually caught one off a tree and had it in her teeth!

I hate it when that happens!!!, I always carry some dental floss, be prepared and all that.

[Max]

He had to shout to her to drop it because she would of bit it in half and could of caught soemthing if she pierced it.

[Kev]

As a £1m national programme to save the red squirrel species is launched today, Formby is one of only 16 places selected to take part because it offers one of the best chances of survival.

More.....

[Max]

WOOO HOOO Save the native red squrral!

[FKoE]

I saw a fox the other morning.... )

Foxes are the gear

[Kev]

I saw a fox the other morning.... )

Foxes are the gear

U must have been up early mate, or just getting in perhaps?

[Max]

Fox was in my street once in the Alley eating out of bin bags! Saw me and ran half way up the street then ran back up to get to sefton park nearby.

One was in Greenbank park too but you only see them at night.

[Scousemouse]

Isnt there a law that lets u kill the grey ones?

...It gets thornier; “control” translates as “culling”. Live capture and shooting are the only legal methods of dispatching the creatures, and Smolka – the red squirrels’ champion in south Scotland – demonstrates a typical wire cage trap. Baited with maize – a favourite grey squirrel snack – they are covered and placed on the ground, where greys generally feed. To minimise suffering, traps are checked twice daily, and any reds immediately released. As for the unfortunate greys, Smolka says: “Some people shoot them in the trap, but we advise you get a sack, put it over the end and when the trap is open, the grey goes into the sack. You then take it in the sack to very solid ground, like concrete or stone, and give it a very hard blow to the back of the head.”

It sounds hideous, although training and detailed instructions are given to landowners and Smolka insists the method is humane. “But most keepers shoot them directly in the sack,” says Riley. “Because if you’re fiddling about with a sack and the thing gets out, you’ve committed an offence. It’s illegal to release grey squirrels into the wild.”

SOURCE

[Howie]

Red alert: Saving the squirrel

The red squirrel is being killed by its grey cousin. Should we intervene?

Imagine the tiger vanishing from India, or the giant panda disappearing from China. The red squirrel has the same iconic status in England, say those who want to save it. Losing the small, tufty creature that inspired Beatrix Potter to invent Squirrel Nutkin would diminish the soul of the nation, they say, as well as being an ecological disaster.

The red has three advantages that will help it survive: its looks; our instinctive hostility to all things American just now; and the passion that the British have, whatever the Government says, for killing things. Pass the shotgun would you? Bloody Yanks. Sorry, greys.

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[FKoE]

U must have been up early mate, or just getting in perhaps?

, Ah it was early doors, and I was walking the dog, thank God he was on his lead

[FKoE]

[size=3]
The red squirrel is being killed by its grey cousin. Should we intervene?

Yes, we should protect our native species from the foriegn invaders

[Paul D]

Payed a visit to Formby today myself and it was very busy but it was a great day out.

[Kev]

Payed a visit to Formby today myself and it was very busy but it was a great day out.

Nice photees Paul mate Did u get down to the beach?