About

Grey squirrels mammals from the small-to-medium-sized rodent family. They are crepuscular, which means they are mostly active during twilight, in fact the early morning and late afternoon.

A male squirrel is called a boar. A female squirrel is called a sow. A baby squirrel is called a kit, kitten or pup. A group of squirrels is called a scurry or dray.

Habitat

Grey squirrels live in nests called "dreys", these are roughly spherical and usually in the forks of trees. They are found across the UK, but mostly prefer urban and woodland areas.

What does it need?

They eat nuts, seeds and berries, but have been know to eat other plant parts, fungi, insects, baby birds and birds' eggs. They also enjoy stealing food from bird feeders, so hang them 3 metres from anywhere they could jump to!

What needs it?

When they forget about the food they stored, the seeds and nuts sprout in to new plants and trees. Squirrels also spread mushrooms through their waste.

The main predators of grey squirrels include stoats, goshawks and foxes. In Scotland and Northern Ireland, pine martens prey on grey squirrels, in turn helping to reverse the decline of red squirrels.

Fun fact!

Squirrels cannot recall where they buried their food (called a cache); they rely on their scent. They can smell their food even under 30cm of snow! They lose about 25% of their cache to other squirrels and birds, and have been observed digging a hole and vigorously covering it up again, but without leaving the nut, in order to throw off potential thieves.

See a video here, and learn more here!