Squirrels are cute too, but the amount of damage they did to my house...
Some dummy released a bunch of eastern red squirrels on Vancouver Island, and they are killing off and driving out the indigenous grey squirrels. They are also raiding songbird nests and reducing that population.
I am not the least bit fond of invasive species. Think starlings.
Terrible news. Who knew? We ARE running short of birds. Our squirrels are nice grey ones, or at least those are the ones I’m feeding. At our 2-block long wooded apartment complex, we are not allowed to have bird houses because some stupid little old lady complained about their waking her up too early. Not allowed to feed squirrels either, but I live uphill on the edge of the property and no-one comes up here. Put nuts out after dark under a big tree, pick up shells in the morning.
BTW, Vancouver Island is my idea of heaven. When I lived on Bainbridge Island, I’d go up several times a year, stay for a weekend, eat yummy food, go to really interesting art exhibits, and enjoy Butchart Gardens. Took my fave picture of my daughter there. She’s a wonderful gardener too. Mad at squirrels for stealing food from bird feeders. One day she found a deer steeling too. Wildlife gotta be wild.
Too bad the red squirrels aren't going after starlings.