Another BBC request! - hunt for smart squirrels & ingenious birds (1 Viewer)

[Bristol Simon B]

... I know it's a controversial subject, but I use the words 'squirrel' and 'hunt' in the same sentence advisedly!

Following Kiri's post yesterday regarding passionate people for Springwatch can I make another plea from the BBC. I'm a producer at the Natural History Unit in the UK where we're currently making a two-part series on animal intelligence for BBC1 and the Discovery Channel. Although we're working with some of the world's leading scientists this is a project which also gives us a wonderful opportunity to feature charming and more anecdotal 'intelligent' behaviour which I hope may trigger some thoughts in Birdforum members.

The two areas we're particularly interested in are persistent squirrels and examples of ingenious or intelligent bird behaviour you may have seen or heard about.

For a similar project ten years ago I filmed rooks at Membury motorway service station on the M4 in the UK which have learned to pull up the black plastic bin liners to reach food inside (behaviour which is still going on and which we hope to film again). We also featured an ingenious swallow in Denmark which gained access to an industrial warehouse and its nest inside by swooping past a motion sensor to trigger the movement of a huge roller shutter door usually triggered by arriving articulated lorries! We also filmed crows soaking stale bread in garden ponds to make it more palatable and mice that would leap a few inches to gain access to hanging bird feeders. Green herons in Florida which fish using pieces of bread are also high on our list.

Perhaps you have unusual garden visitors or persistent squirrels we could devise a few tests for, or have been particularly impressed by a piece of behaviour you've seen or heard about?

One sequence which I'm very keen to film is one which showcases the agility and ingenuity of grey squirrels. I appreciate that the subject remains controversial but we're keen to set up a series of 'squirrel proof' bird feeders in a garden where the squirrels may be particularly persistent in the hope of getting some impressive hi speed footage. Perhaps you enjoy their visits, have actively encouraged them or are currently engaged in an armed struggle we could assist with? You may even be a keen amateur camera person who we could help to film your squirrel visitors for the programme?

Our filming will principally take place in the UK and North America but we will also be filming in various locations around the world. For practical reasons though our squirrel sequence would probably have to be filmed in a garden in the UK, preferably close to Bristol or London so that a cameraman (or indeed a keen amateur anywhere in the country?) could keep a close eye and modify the challenges depending on the squirrels abilities!

If any of this sounds of interest to you, or triggers any ideas please do get in touch. I'm very conscious that without the passion and enthusiasm of keen wildlife enthusiasts like yourselves we wouldn't be able to make many of the television programmes that we do.

Thank you very much for your time.
Sincerely,
Simon B

 

[Barred Wobbler]

Instead of promoting the grey vermin, maybe you'd be better employed giving publicity to the efforts being made to keep the last of our remaining red squirrels safe from extinction.

 

[martin kitching]

[Apologies to Simon B for keeping this off-topic]

Every year I discuss the red vs grey debate with several hundred clients (and attendees at a series of wildlife talks I'm contracted to present). Most people would be amazed (although I'm sure Barred Wobbler won't) at how little understanding, of the problems faced by Red Squirrels, there is - even amongst people with a keen interest in Natural History. It's an uncomfortable subject for the national media; the idea that the survival of an endangered mammal, which most people aren't familiar with, may be dependent on the trapping/killing of these 'cute' garden visitors.

What coverage there has been (in newspapers and on TV) has portrayed the people who are putting so much effort into Red Squirrel protection as little more than bloodthirsty buffoons.

In the end I suppose it comes down to what makes better tv;
1) Grey Squirrels performing tricks?
2) People,who give the appearance of being quite unstable/eccentric, shooting Grey Squirrels?
3) Rational, sensible people in the north of England, concerned about the decline in the Red Squirrel population, working tirelessly and voluntarily to halt that decline, promote the issues involved to a wide audience and (hopefully) extend the species' distribution?

Simon B, I apologise again for the off-topic comments. If you're ever interested in option 3) please get in touch:t:

cheers
martin

Instead of promoting the grey vermin, maybe you'd be better employed giving publicity to the efforts being made to keep the last of our remaining red squirrels safe from extinction.