Squirrels in the grass

When you think of an animal that’s interesting, cute or idyllic, the Grey Squirrel doesn’t exactly come to mind.  In the last ten years, this foreign invader has been steadying replacing the home grown Red Squirrel, a much more handsome squirrel which I think most would agree.   I fondly remember sitting in woods in Spring and just watch Reds rushing around the tree trunks, chasing each other, stopping occasionally to lay a curious eye over me. Now that’s all gone and the Greys are here and here to stay.  They don’t seem to have that same curiosity of the Reds instead they seem to either ignore you or disappear at first sight.  That doesn’t mean to say they aren’t without their own charm. Sitting and watching them up close and you can see they do have their own little personality and even a certain amount of ‘cuteness’ – just. They spend a lot of their time on the ground, more so than what I have seen of Reds.  Maybe that’s down to the difference in diet.  This can make them a little more accessible though at this time of year the grass and foliage did a good job of hiding them when I was trying to photograph them, resulting in my having to manually focus for most of the time.  The grass acted almost like water with they as Otters swimming through it.  They were constantly nose down rummaging around the undergrowth looking for what I don’t know, occasionally poking their heads up barely giving me enough time to focus and shot.

In the end I had to follow the rustle of grass until they either showed a head or crossed an open section, which they tended to do so quickly, presumably concerned about any predators about. I think at the end of the day, like any wild animal, it’s nice to be able to just sit and watch them on a nice summers day, but I still prefer the Red Squirrel.  Sadly, I think those days are over.