I'm afraid I disagree with all this pro-squirrel sentiment. The grey squirrel is an aggressive, disease-carrying imported predator which disturbs the eco-system and kills indigenous species of both birds and plants. (The same is true of domestic cats, but their impact can be managed by putting a bell on the collar). We have an eco-garden - no pesticides, a pond, a wild area, a stick-pile, a bee-house and so on with the explicit purpose of supporting eco-diversity - but lost several nests in the garden last year due to squirrel predation (and none as far as I can tell to the various local moggies).
Sympathies PW. I must get a bell for my cat's collar actually - he used to have one but I took it off when he ended up with a magnet for the cat flap. I'll get one this evening on the way home. There are almost no [visible] squirrels at all in my area so he has the whole local bird and mouse population to himself...
I don't know why I didn't think of the bell option before actually, so thanks for mentioning that.
