Life Style

The grey squirrel builds nests known as dreys in the hollows of trees or if you’re unlucky, in the roof spaces of houses. The grey squirrel has two breeding seasons a year. The first litters are born in February/March time after a gestation period of 45 days. The 3-4 young are weaned at ten weeks old. A second litter is born in June/July time.

Grey squirrels eat a wide range of foods from nuts, fruit, young shoots to birds eggs and nestlings. Surplus food is buried for retrieval at a later date. The grey squirrel was deliberately introduced to Britain from the USA in 1876 spreading throughout England and Wales displacing the native red squirrel. As a non-native species it is illegal to trap and release grey squirrels to another area.