No.015 · Mammals · Common
Grey squirrel
Sciurus carolinensis
An introduced North American squirrel that is now everywhere in Britain's parks, gardens and woods, burying acorns and raiding bird feeders.
When to see a grey squirrel
All year, mostly at dawn, by day and at dusk.
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
Time of day
- Dawn
- Day
- Dusk
- Night
Where to see a grey squirrel in the UK
- The New Forest. Common in the oak and beech of Bolderwood and around Lyndhurst.
Grey squirrel facts at a glance
- Best time
- Daylight, all year; most active in the first two hours after dawn and the last before dusk.
- Where in the game
- Millbrook (park, garden, churchyard, urban and canal) and the New Forest (ancient woodland and lawn)
- Size
- Head and body 24–28 cm, tail 19–24 cm
- Weight
- About 400–700 g
- Lifespan
- Females up to 5 years in the wild; males typically 2–3 (Mammal Society)
- Population
- About 2.7 million in Britain (Mammal Society, 2018; PTES)
- Status
- Non-native (introduced from North America); the GB Red List does not apply
Diet
Acorns, hazelnuts, seeds, buds, fungi, bark and bird eggs; buries food in autumn.
Habitat
Woodlands, parks, gardens and hedgerows.
Breeding
Up to two litters a year (early spring and summer) of 2–4 kits, in a drey of twigs and leaves high in a tree.
Field signs
- Rounded, walnut-sized holes in nut shells and stripped pine cones
- A big ball of leaves and twigs (a drey) in a tree fork
- Small pits in lawns where acorns were buried
Did you know?
- Grey squirrels were brought to Britain from North America in the 19th century, with more releases into the 20th (PTES, Woodland Trust).
- They carry squirrelpox virus, which is harmless to them but deadly to red squirrels.
- Grey squirrels bury nuts in autumn, and sometimes go through the motions of burying one to fool watchers.
Moments worth waiting for
- Burying acorns
A squirrel digs a small hole, drops an acorn, pats down the soil, and looks around. - Drey building
A squirrel drags a beakful of leaves up a tree to line its drey.
Rare forms and local legends
- Black squirrel
It's a grey squirrel with one gene changed. There are about 25,000–30,000 black squirrels in the UK, mostly in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire (Mammal Society). - Sooty
Black and grey squirrels are the same species and live side by side. Many young of a black and a grey parent are grey.
Photo tip
Sit still at a woodland edge or park bench and let squirrels approach. Focus on the eye and shoot with a wide aperture; autumn acorn burying is a good scene.
Be a good naturalist
Do not feed them junk food or touch them; they can bite. It is illegal to release a trapped grey squirrel.
The law
Listed on Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981: it is illegal to release one, or let one escape, into the wild. Keeping grey squirrels without a licence has been illegal since the Grey Squirrels (Prohibition of Importation and Keeping) Order 1937.
