Mixenden

I managed to grab a couple of hours out with the rifle, I asked Dave (www.ukferreter.co.uk) if he fancied tagging along for some Squirrels.

He said "I was in there last week, and there's nowt about!"

I said I'd show him a mass of Squirrels, as I knew their haunts, so we took a trip to the local woods.

We arrived at the woods, and had been on the land less than 2 minutes, when a Magpie flew past us and landed in a nearby tree.

Dave tried to get a line of sight on the corvid, but couldn't see it.

I peered round a large bush, and could see the Magpie in full view. I raised my rifle and placed my shot

A single shot brought him crashing to the ground.

I went and collected him, then we searched the nearby trees for the other Magpies we could hear. We located 3, but they all flew away before we could get within range, so we went in pursuit of Squirrels.

Dave & I separated, and slowly moved through the woods. A few minutes later, I heard Dave's rifle give a PHUT! and a split second later a

I thought he'd bagged another Magpie, but spotted him picking a Squirrel up.

I took him to the area I knew the Squirrels frequented, and Dave headed in from a different direction to me.

I spotted a black Squirrel running for cover, then it disappeared up a large Pine tree.

A couple of minutes later, I saw 2 on the ground, but they were about 50 yards away, so didn't risk a shot, but Dave didn't see them.

We looked around the area, and found 1 up a large Sycamore tree.

I fired a shot

She almost fell off the branch, but managed to keep hold, Dave was just about to take a shot, when I saw she was moving very precariously along the branch.

She crawled about 3 yards, then fell from her perch.

She dropped onto a branch below, and got caught by the hips in a fork.

We spent the next couple of minutes shooting her dead body to dislodge it from the fork, then she crashed to the ground.

We set off in search of more, and it wasn't long before we located another.

Dave got the 1st shot

and he fell from his branch.

He fell about 8 foot, and landed on the fork of a branch.

"Not again!" we both said.

After about 8 shots, he was dislodged, and fell to the ground.

We headed back to where I'd seen the black Squirrel. After around 15 minutes of hiding behind a tree each, Dave & I decided to move somewhere else.

I headed to another part of the woods I knew Squirrels visited regularly, and thought Dave was following (I found out 1/2 hour later, he'd gone home).

I counted 7 young Squirrels scampering about on the low branches, and took 2 shots, but didn't hit my targets.

I then started my way back home, and was 1/2 way through the woods, when some movement caught my eye, so I set off in pursuit.

2 Squirrels were dashing about in the branches of a fallen tree, but they saw me coming, and headed for the tree tops.

I followed 1 of them as it jumped from tree to tree, but ended up losing it when it scampered down the rear of the trunk and ran across the woodland floor at top speed, heading for a hole under another fallen tree.

I left this Squirrel for another day, and headed home.

We'll visit again in the near future.