Strathnairn, Highlands A squirrel at one of the wooden boxes suddenly darted along the branch and started gnawing away at the antler

For our first 29 years in this house we didn’t see a single red squirrel in the garden, but since May this year they have become daily visitors. The wooden feeder boxes on the apple trees have been a big attraction, and watching the squirrels push up the lids with their heads and reach in to get the peanuts can often be amusing.

However, some of them persist in visiting a wire feeder that was put out for birds, despite the difficulty of getting the nuts out. When the squirrels are at the feeders, I have noticed that a couple of mallard immediately head over to the bottom of the tree, to pick up any nuts or fragments they might let drop.

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Source: Guardian Environment