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June 2022
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Behaviour 20197/24/2019 July 24, 2019
The presentation is complete and I went well. Or at least I thought so. Had a few questions about duration of the calls and how that may reflect motivation or affect. Our next steps will be to analyze the number of calls produced in the bout as well as how close together those calls are, in order to explore any motivational components in the system. The playbacks are going to be an important addition to the study and will be good to report those next year. More squirrel stories to follow.....
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Last day on Arran7/14/2019 July 14, 2019
Another successful field visit is over. Hard to leave such a beautiful location and such great, and cooperative, study animals but it is time to return to Canada. Lots of data in hand there will plenty to analyze and discuss in blogs later this summer and into the fall months. Squirrels at the hide today included all the usual suspects with a lengthy visit from a young pup. The pup spent quite a bit of time feeding at the high tree feeder all the while being vigilant of the birds and other critters below. Being young means being quite cautious in situations, like an open feeder, that could be dangerous. See you in a year squirrels!
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Squirrel predators7/12/2019 July 12, 2019
Like many species the Eurasian red squirrel often experiences heavy predation. Here on Arran, the squirrels will often encounter feral cats, the common buzzard and the sparrowhawk. When squirrels encounter one of these potential predators they will often produce their chip call and in some cases will tail flag or leave the area. Squirrels will also encounter non-threatening species like the wood pigeon. Now, although a pigeon would not predate upon a squirrel, they are intense food competitors and thus squirrels will confront them! Recently at the squirrel hide we had a close encounter with a sparrowhawk. The bird did not have any success obtaining it's lunch but it did cause quite an acoustic commotion.
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Back to the hide7/10/2019 July 9, 2019
Rain was coming down quite heavily today but that did not stop the squirrels from coming to the feeders and hide area. There were many today, most of the time interacting with each other. The Eurasian red squirrel engages in tail flagging behaviour in several different contexts. Thus far my observations indicate that they flag to threats, be they predatory, non predatory or conspecifics. These flags may be signals of aggression or to deter the threat. At this point there is no clear pattern BUT the lab is on the hunt analyzing videos of these flagging events. So, there is more to come with this story! Back again tomorrow to head out with the squirrels and see what the day will bring. I have only four more days of data collection for this season then back to the lab for analysis!
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Sunny Squirrel Day7/7/2019 July 7, 2019
Eurasian red squirrels are rare in most areas of Scotland due to competition with invasive grey squirrels. As a result squirrels are greatly valued in Scotland and most locations throughout the UK. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to contribute to the growing body of knowledge on the behaviour of these squirrels. We know relatively little about their communication system and thus all the work here on Arran could help contribute to conservation efforts. The great thing about the squirrels on Arran is that they are here alone, in other words there are no grey squirrels on the island. This means the communication system I am exploring is one that has potentially not been affected by competitive interactions with grey squirrels. As you can see from the signage above a squirrel sighting is an exciting and rare thing!
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True Scotland weather7/5/2019 July 5, 2019
Today was true Scotland weather but the squirrels don't mind. Nestled in the squirrel viewing hide I spent the day watching and recording their calls and behaviour. A new addition to the hide this year, a glass bottle feeder. Individuals have no problem fitting their heads in the bottle and retrieving peanuts. The favourite spot is still the tree feeding but the new bottle feeder means more squirrels can eat at once. Hope for sunshine tomorrow!
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Back on Arran!7/5/2019 July 2, 2019
Back on Arran, the wonderful island off the west coast of Scotland. The island is full of beautiful scenery and fantastic folks. The communication lab has been coming here for the past four years and we have plenty of data and sound to analyze, present and publish. So far so good! This summer the first week of research will be collecting more conspecific interactions as well as the different calls individuals produce in an number of contexts. Posts will come daily on the progress of the squirrels!
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Exeter squirrel chats7/5/2019 June 29, 2019
The trip to University of Exeter is a wrap. Spent time chatting about squirrel research on inhibitory control and pickiness. Time to review the apparatus the grey squirrels use and build one for the North American and Eurasian reds. Looking forward to future chats and time spent researching all of our squirrels! Cheers to my host and collaborator Dr. Lisa Lever. |