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Thread: Greetings from London England!

  1. #1
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    Default Greetings from London England!

    Hi folks, just joined and thought I better say a quick hello.

    I found your board by googling for information about squirrels and it looks like a great place!

    I live in London, and for the last 7 or 8 years have lived in a first-floor flat right on the edge of a park so we see a lot of wildlife. The road is gated and lined with trees so it wasn't long after I moved in that I noticed a plentiful amount of gray squirrels running about and climbing up the outside of the building and on to the window ledges. I started putting out a few peanuts for them and that was it, I was hooked! They are such cute, intelligent creatures, with so much character, and the more I observed them and got to know them I could identify particular regulars just from the way they behaved. I fell in love with the fuzzy little fellas.

    I still feed them and put water out for them every day, and although I have lost a couple of favourites over the years (R.I.P. Squizzy and Sammy), I still have a handful of regulars that show up every day for their munchies!

    The reason I was googling for info in the first place concerns my oldest regular at the moment, Smudgy. I have known him for three or four years now and he knows me well enough to hop through the window and follow me into the kitchen sometimes when he can't wait for treats. He has been through the wars recently, and somehow got his tail mangled...the fur has grown back but part of it was broken so he has roughly half his original tail now poor little fella, but it never seems to get him down!

    He disappeared for a few days recently and I was worried, but a couple of days ago he turned up at the window perfectly fine apparently. The only thing I've noticed is that the white fur around his mouth seems to be discoloured, it's more of a brown colour now. I thought the fur may just be stained from something he'd eaten, but a few days have passed and it's still the same. I was wondering if anyone knew of a reason why his fur may have undergone this sudden change in colour, he's not displaying any symptoms of being ill, I couldn't find anything online about it.

    I better stop rambling for now, if I can work out how I'll try and post a picture of Smudgy...thanks for listening folks, it's nice to be amongst fellow squirrel lovers!

  2. Serious fuzzy thank you's to Cubby from:


  3. #2
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    Default Re: Greetings from London England!

    Welcome!

    Fall is coming and I bet some of your nut trees are bearing. There are a number of varieties - walnuts, hickories, etc., that form inside a fleshy outer husk (technically the "nut" is the seed of this "fruit"). Lots of the husk varieties have a brown stain - probably from tannins - that is so potent that they have been used for dyeing fabric for years! It is kind of sticky, too, so the discoloration stays around for a while. I can always tell when someone has a nut tree with nuts nearby because my squirrels all start showing up with grubby brown faces. This may very well be what you are seeing.

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    Cubby (08-18-2016), Ekorre (08-17-2016)

  5. #3
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    Default Re: Greetings from London England!

    Thanks for the welcome!

    That does make sense about the stained fur...maybe he disappeared into the park for a couple of days exploring, there's all kinds of trees over there. I guess there's a good chance that's all it is, I can't help worrying about the poor little guy!

  6. #4
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    Default Re: Greetings from London England!

    Welcome, Cubby and friends! You are certainly one of us, and you'll find all kinds of great info here on all things Sciuridae . As for the stained faces, black walnuts are out in full force here in NYC and our squirrels all have black Goth lipstick
    Island Rehabber
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    "Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
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    NEGLECT IS ABUSE.

    "Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."

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    Cubby (08-18-2016)

  8. #5
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    Default Re: Greetings from London England!

    Thanks again, hopefully I'll be learning a few more squirrelly things here as the time goes on.

    Gray squirrels are not highly thought-of here in the UK because of the effect they had on the indigenous Red population, they are classed as 'vermin', which is a horrible term for such delightful, friendly creatures.

    It's nice to know that there are so many people here who appreciate these animals, I hope to be around for a while.

  9. 4 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to Cubby:

    Ekorre (08-17-2016), island rehabber (08-16-2016), redwuff (08-18-2016)

  10. #6
    squizzabelle Guest

    Default Re: Greetings from London England!

    Hi cubby greetings from Dorset and a big hug to a fellow english squirrel nut! you found this amazing place the same way i did it seems i couldnt stop trying to find out everything I could about the most beautiful wild animals we have in England, ( we dont have many de we really that share their lives with us the way squirrels do) just to say you couldnt have found a more fantastic informed friendly and dedicated group of wonderful folks as are on here...warning though you may spend hours of your life reading the stories (both sad and happy) on here, thanks for loving our amazing buddies, any photos would be a bonus we love photos
    Kind regards cheryl

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    Cubby (08-18-2016), Ekorre (08-17-2016), redwuff (08-18-2016)

  12. #7
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    Default Re: Greetings from London England!

    Nice to meet you squizzabelle, good to see there are some UK folks on here too!

    It's funny, I guess to a lot of people squirrels are almost invisible, or an annoyance...but once you start to observe them and gain their trust enough that they're comfortable with you being close to them, they really are such amazing creatures. The only problem is I'm now known as 'the squirrel guy' by all my friends and neighbours, but it's a small price to pay.

  13. 4 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to Cubby:

    Ekorre (08-17-2016), island rehabber (08-17-2016), PennyCash (08-16-2016)

  14. #8
    squizzabelle Guest

    Default Re: Greetings from London England!

    Quote Originally Posted by Cubby View Post
    Nice to meet you squizzabelle, good to see there are some UK folks on here too!

    It's funny, I guess to a lot of people squirrels are almost invisible, or an annoyance...but once you start to observe them and gain their trust enough that they're comfortable with you being close to them, they really are such amazing creatures. The only problem is I'm now known as 'the squirrel guy' by all my friends and neighbours, but it's a small price to pay.
    Likewise Hehe ! I was the squirrel lady ! There are worse names! You are right, I didn't realise how exceptionally clever and beautiful they are until they allowed me to share their lives, I had one 'scrappy' he used to get on my lap! Had to move my finger up and down between my knees and he knew I had buried hazlenuts in my lap, Gosh he was adorable and so clever, I really miss my buddies ( had to move out two months ago it literally broke my heart ) I went back to see them but that's a story for another time. I look at the vids and photos and it just makes me cry to see them, you need to Name:  image.jpeg
Views: 16
Size:  444.3 KBtreasure each and every moment you share with these special little critters xx ps here is a nice pic of one of my buddies. Take care ...chez x

  15. #9
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    Default Re: Greetings from London England!

    It's nice to see some people from the UK on here! I'm new to the board, too.

    Squirrels are wonderful (whatever colour they happen to be) and it sounds like you have some lovely friends!

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    Cubby (08-18-2016)

  17. #10
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    Default Re: Greetings from London England!

    As an Anglophile from childhood, Brit Lit major in college, and Britcom addict for sure, I would just like to welcome all of you to the best nuthouse on the net.

    Attached Images Attached Images  
    Last edited by island rehabber; 08-18-2016 at 07:58 AM.
    Island Rehabber
    NY State Licensed
    Wildlife Rehabilitator


    "Ancora Imparo" (I am still learning)
    Michelangelo


    *
    If you can't afford the vet,
    You can't afford a pet.
    NEGLECT IS ABUSE.

    "Better one day in the trees, than a lifetime in a cage."

    '...and the greatest of these, is Love. '

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  19. #11
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    Default Re: Greetings from London England!



    I am also an anglophile, did an undergraduate semester in London, addicted to British TV (mostly mysteries and Dr Who) and fellow squirrel lover!

    Welcome to the TSB! It sounds like you have a very strong connection to your wild squirrel Smudgy! He might like a bowl of fresh water too!
    See my wild squirrel adventures in the thread "Squirtle's yard!":
    https://thesquirrelboard.com/forums/...quirtle-s-Yard!

    Loving dad to Sir Max, 2017-2018. There is no foot so small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world.

    "Once in a while you get shown the light, In the strangest of places if you look at it right."
    -Grateful Dead

  20. 4 TSBers pass along the fuzzy thanks to TubeDriver:

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  21. #12
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    Default Re: Greetings from London England!

    Quote Originally Posted by TubeDriver View Post
    It sounds like you have a very strong connection to your wild squirrel Smudgy! He might like a bowl of fresh water too!


    Indeed he does! I always try and make sure they all have some fresh water to drink, and Smudgy in particular seems to enjoy a long drink in-between meals. A couple of years ago another regular, a female I called Sammy, became quite sick for a few days and was drinking gallons of water, I could barely refill the bowl fast enough. Sadly, although she seemed to make a recovery, she disappeared soon after that and I fear that another animal may have got hold of her as she was still in a slightly weakened state.

    Lovely to read about the squirrel climbing on your lap squizzabelle! One of my very first favourite squirrels, Squizzy, used to hop through the window and come and sit next to me on the sofa, she would even tolerate me giving her a little stroke sometimes...although she would give me a dirty look if she wasn't in the mood. Smudgy is just as bold, but will never sit with me, he grabs what he wants and is out the window in a flash!

    Once again, thanks for the welcome folks, been looking around the boards and there really are so many fantastic stories and so much great information!

  22. #13
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    Default Re: Greetings from London England!

    How fun to hear from the squirrel lovin folks in the British Isles. This board is amazing with how it connects squirrel lovers around the world.

    Trysh

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    Cubby (08-18-2016)

  24. #14
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    Default Re: Greetings from London England!

    I posted some pics of Smudgy HERE for those who'd like to meet him.

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  26. #15
    squizzabelle Guest

    Default Re: Greetings from London England!

    Quote Originally Posted by Ekorre View Post
    It's nice to see some people from the UK on here! I'm new to the board, too.

    Squirrels are wonderful (whatever colour they happen to be) and it sounds like you have some lovely friends!
    Hi ekorre - where are you? I'm in Poole, Dorset, enjoying this lovely hot weather planning a day trip to brownsea island soon to see the reds ( as soon as the kids are back at school) I don't fancy sharing the hide with a lot of noisy kids tbh, they will scare them !

  27. #16
    squizzabelle Guest

    Default Re: Greetings from London England!

    Quote Originally Posted by island rehabber View Post
    As an Anglophile from childhood, Brit Lit major in college, and Britcom addict for sure, I would just like to welcome all of you to the best nuthouse on the net.

    Thanks for sorting my access Maura

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