Weelend squirrel report catch up edition '06

[GoodOlBoy]

Whew ok so I been busier than a one legged man at a butt kickin contest.

So far my reports say on most weekends they have been good and fairly active. We had a cold front move through week before last, and with the inpending thunderstorms at the begning of last week most of the bushytailed chitterdemons were moving to higher ground and en masse hording food.

Scurrying activitly has calmed to normal levels (Which is somewhere around that of a two year old on expresso) and they are actively persuing the standard chase and gathering routines.

We have seen a good deal of predator activity this year and in general there are major problems in our area with the coyote population AND the wildcat population. This has caused an increased jitterness in the awareness of the treerats and shows to be a problem in general. This has caused them to be much more responsive to danger AND greatly extended times before activity resumation after loud noises (Such as a shotgun. . . )

However with the increase in mast crops (particularly acorn production levels and american beauty berry levels) even the lack of good persimmon and dewberry production this year has not, so far, created a decline in numbers or health. Most of them actually are about as fat as you are every likely to see a wild squirrel.

It is of note that I am getting many eyewitness reports in the East Texas and West Louisiana region of a dramatic increase in the flying squirrel population. Something that had seen a tremendous decline in the last twenty years. Populations of fox and cat squirrels remain up, but there also seems to be an overabundance of elderly males who rather than breed seem more intent on cleaning their territory of others (including breeding age females)

The coyote and wildcat problems seem to be comming to a head and many of those killed shows signs of starvation. It has gone so far that many of the ranchers in the area have lost the entire years crop of calves. Mule purchase is greatly on the rise (Mules hate coyotes and wildcats and will stomp them into a mudhole given half a chance) and this seems to help. However the lack of a steady food source, and the increased numbers have caused them to become overly desperate and they have even been attacking guard dogs, and climbing into chicken pens in areas normally too close to human population for them to attempt.

The long and short is. The huntin's good. Get after it. Be careful.

GoodOlBoy