34 Squirrels

Delightful red squirrel nibbling chestnut, Brownsea Island.

The annual trip to Brownsea Island in Dorset produced an exciting total of 34 red squirrels this year!

Red squirrel outside the restaurant, Brownsea Island.

Last year's 60 squirrels was unlikely to be beaten, but 30+ was a good haul. They're very active in October, mostly at the inhabited end of the island. Scuffling around with nuts, leaping around trees, they're not too shy - so long as you're quiet, you should see them.

Posing Autumn peacock, Brownsea Island. Coming to a chocolate box or jigsaw near you soon!

Also seen at close quarters...chickens, deer and peacocks!

60 Squirrels!

Squirrels to the left, gift shop to the right!

Friday, last day of Autumn half-term? It must be the annual trip to Brownsea Island to go squirrel-spotting! Previous years have been variously damp, wet, drizzly, etc, but never ever gloriously sunny! Red squirrels must really love the sunshine, because they were out in force last week. They were everywhere you looked - acrobatting around in the treetops, snuffling about in the leaf litter, generally fussing like fluffy tailed fusspots collecting nuts for the winter.

Last year's 21 was the most we'd ever seen in one day, so this year's 60 was extraordinary! Such a pity they no longer live on the mainland. Grey squirrels are cute (in an aggressive kind of way), but reds are pointy-eared darlings!

Until next year...

Oh, I Do Like To Be Beside The Teesside

It's not just all chemical works on Teesside, you know.

Viewing the urban extent of Teesside in the north-east of England, my friend could see some goings-on if he squinted just so. He drew them and sent them to me with the following note:

"The urban area of Teesside resembles a man hitting a clown, while another man strangles an ostrich prior to hitting it with a piece of bacon. Watch out for the out-of-control squirrel surfing on a vacuum cleaner".

And if you study the picture above, you should be able to see all those things.

Now, take a look at the outline of your own town on a map, and see what you can make out...

Reminder To Self: 21 Squirrels

Please note: these aren't real squirrels.

Brownsea Island has been visited every last Friday in Autumn half-term for a few years now. It's a family tradition. There are peacocks, chickens and spoonbills to be seen and admired on the island, but better than all of these are the adorable red squirrels. Smaller than the alien (but well-established) and more familiar grey squirrel, the red squirrel is officially Britain's Cutest Squirrel.

Every year, if we are quiet enough, the shy little creatures reveal themselves, carefully leaping between the branches of the numerous trees, or sometimes scampering around amongst the leaf litter with a hazelnut in their tiny paws. And every year, we count each squirrel and total them up at the end of the day. And every year, within weeks, we have forgotten how many we saw.

So, this year, I am writing down the number of red squirrels seen on the trip to Brownsea Island in 2010.

And the final total this year was...21! This may have been a record number, but as I have never written the total down before, it equally well may not be!