pine martins help red squirrels

slipperyox

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/hello-again-red-squirrels-on-rise-thanks-to-pine-martens-39282539.html

Very short study to come to the conclusion that pine martins kill more greys than reds.
I think shooters need to send bag counts of greys to the npws to add something to that study's claim.

Eddie B

slipperyox wrote: »

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/hello-again-red-squirrels-on-rise-thanks-to-pine-martens-39282539.html

Very short study to come to the conclusion that pine martins kill more greys than reds.
I think shooters need to send bag counts of greys to the npws to add something to that study's claim.

I thought study's showed that Irish Pine Marten were predominantly vegitarian?🙄

Uinseann_16

slipperyox wrote: »

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/hello-again-red-squirrels-on-rise-thanks-to-pine-martens-39282539.html

Very short study to come to the conclusion that pine martins kill more greys than reds.
I think shooters need to send bag counts of greys to the npws to add something to that study's claim.

Its very hard to shoot grey squirrels due to the fact forest areas are extremely reluctant to let hunters in , because karen might say " why do you let them kill the poor squirrels" :pac:

Eddie B

Uinseann_16 wrote: »

Its very hard to shoot grey squirrels due to the fact forest areas are extremely reluctant to let hunters in , because karen might say " why do you let them kill the poor squirrels" :pac:

Amazing the way that article was able to please even grey squirrel fans. That's about three quarters of the population of Dublin convinced that there is no need for a cull.

skipking

been trapping grey squirrels around a farm yard where there are a lot beech and oak trees got 19 so far in the last 3 months.

Richard308

skipking wrote: »

been trapping grey squirrels around a farm yard where there are a lot beech and oak trees got 19 so far in the last 3 months.

Fair play. Invasive species. What type of trap are you using? Link?

skipking

i use a home made trap it also is used for mink. i bait it with peanuts and peanut butter.

skipking

skipking wrote: »

been trapping grey squirrels around a farm yard where there are a lot beech and oak trees got 19 so far in the last 3 months.

Will help those trees no end, Greys can lacerate the bark of young oak and beech trees very badly, often little regeneration where they are abundant.

Eddie B

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/15/hopes-dashed-that-resurgent-pine-martens-can-save-uks-red-squirrel

Benny mcc

Marten hunt at night while little Red sleeps. Big surprise for little Red when Marten pulled him from his nest as a late night snak. It would be a hungry Marten if he was relying on berries and nuts in winter here as they suggest

Birdnuts

Eddie B wrote: »

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/15/hopes-dashed-that-resurgent-pine-martens-can-save-uks-red-squirrel

Urban areas seem to be a problem alright when it comes to Pine Martens tackling Greys - having said that a park the size of the Phoenix Park(were Greys are still rampant) could surely support a couple of PM's??

Eddie B

Birdnuts wrote: »

Urban areas seem to be a problem alright when it comes to Pine Martens tackling Greys - having said that a park the size of the Phoenix Park(were Greys are still rampant) could surely support a couple of PM's??

Most definitely. And more than likely, there may be some present. But on a whole, huge city populations of grey squirrels are a big problem. It really means that there is no chance of a complete eradication of them from the country, no matter how much of a positive effect the pine marten has on reducing their numbers.

Thing is, with natural adaptation, at some point the grey squirrel will most likely get used to predation from marten, and re-populate area's it is disappearing from. The grey squirrel is a very adaptable animal, and that can easily be seen with their population growth since they were introduced here.

So I personally think we only have a small window to make a big difference. If Pine Marten are hitting the grey squirrel hard, then we need to put even more pressure on them, whilst their on the back foot.

Something should be set up to tackle squirrels in inner cities. In New Zealand and Australia, the public are encouraged to set traps to eradicate invasive species. Most people seem to be on board. Traps are set aroud properties, road verges etc, and no one steals them, or tampers with them. This is what we need here. It needs to be seen as a good thing.

We already know that letting nature take its coarse, does not have a happy ending, for our native red squirrel. So we need to act, and the time is now.

J.R.

Eddie B wrote: »

But on a whole, huge city populations of grey squirrels are a big problem.

Vermin is becoming an ever increasing problem in cities...there seems to be no control....grey squirrels, rats, feral pigeons, seagulls, crows & magpies.

One day here last week, in south west Dublin, while on an early morning walk, I counted 47 magpies on one soccer pitch in a large public park.

Capercaillie

J.R. wrote: »

Vermin is becoming an ever increasing problem in cities...there seems to be no control....grey squirrels, rats, feral pigeons, seagulls, crows & magpies.

One day here last week, in south west Dublin, while on an early morning walk, I counted 47 magpies on one soccer pitch in a large public park.

Most gull species in Ireland in decline.

Eddie B

Capercaillie wrote: »

Most gull species in Ireland in decline.

Any idea what's causing this?

Birdnuts

Eddie B wrote: »

Any idea what's causing this?

Closing of landfills and the banning of fishery discards has hit larger gulls like Herring Gulls. Smaller gulls like the Black Headed etc. have been hit by mink predation of some of their breeding colonies.

J.R.

Birdnuts wrote: »

Closing of landfills and the banning of fishery discards has hit larger gulls like Herring Gulls.

This may explain why their numbers in urban areas and cities give the impression of having increased...large flocks in green areas searching for food.

They can be very aggressive and forthcoming in their search for food.......biggest mistake people in urban areas can do is start to feed them, treating trhem like pets and try to become friendly with them.

Eddie B

I recon pesticides have played a part too. Sterilizing the land has resulted in gulls no longer coming in land during ploughing. A few years ago, it was a common sight.

Birdnuts

Eddie B wrote: »

I recon pesticides have played a part too. Sterilizing the land has resulted in gulls no longer coming in land during ploughing. A few years ago, it was a common sight.

Could have a point there alright - worm and other soil invertebrate numbers are just a fraction of what they were 50 years ago, especially in intensive dairy and tillage areas. Ear to the Ground had a piece on this matter a few years ago with old timers commenting on how they noticed the degradation of soil since herbicides, chemical fert etc. came into widespread use