An awesome animal encounter

I just wanted to share the amazing encounter I had today in my own back garden. I put out food for lots of different animals and often get to see them from my back door on feeders.

Today I went to the bottom of the garden to see if I could spot any birds in the tree waiting to come to the feeder. I thought if I stood next to the feeder and stayed really still they might come and get some food and give me a really nice view.

I admit I was being a little optomistic but there are some birds that are more tame than others. So here I was standing in the cold as it gently spat with rain hoping to maybe see a Great tit or a cheeky Robin up close. What I saw instead was unexpected and hugely exciting.

I should explain at this point that I was standing right next to the bird feeder which is just above my eye level at the bottom of my garden attached to the fence at the back of my garden but slightly higher than the fence so the birds can see if the cats are about. I don't own cats but there are plenty in my local area and they keep coming into my garden trying to kill birds, which they sometimes manage to do.

So back to today and as I stood there I could hear a sort of grinding twitter sound coming from the tree. I didn't recognize this sound but figured it was some type of bird. Then out it came from the tree. A familiar face but not one I have ever been so close to. I have photographed her so many times from my back door. I have blown up the photos on the computer which led me to be sure when I say "she" because there was no doubt when I saw her today that it was the brown faced female that visits my garden. A female Grey Squirrel!

I wondered if she would come near me if I stood really still. I tried not to stare her straight in the eye because I know wild animals find that threatening. I could still hear the strange noise in the tree.

Gradually she climbed onto the fence and crept closer then retreated then crept closer again. All the time she was swirling her bushy tail at me. I don't know if this meant she was afraid of me or was trying her best to scare me off.

After what seemed like forever she climbed back into the tree and up on to a huge steel fence that keeps people off the railway line over the back of my house. She walked along the upright section of this fence until she was level with my head but about 6ft above me. All the time this familiar noise was coming from her. The noise I had thought was a bird was actually her and even more amazing another one was answering her. I couldn't see the other squirrel but I could hear that it was in the tree.

She came down from the fence back into the tree, apparently satisfied that she had checked me out from a safe distance. I thought at that point she would leave but she did not. She spent another 5 or 10 minutes crawling along my fence then hiding back in the tree, still swishing her tail around. Then she came within a foot of where I was standing, leaning on the fence, and she climbed up on to the bird feeder. I could see her so close to me as she put her head into one of the bowls and took out a Hazelnut. She hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to crack the nut up there or retreat to the safety of her tree. Ultimately she decided to go back to the tree but she did not run away she just left at her own speed.

I decided at this point to go inside and get dry. I had been standing there at that fence for 45 minutes getting cold and damp but it was an amazing experience I will never forget. It is so special to be trusted by a wild animal enough to be allowed to watch it in its environment doing what it does.

Not only that but also the fact that I never knew squirrels made noises. I still don't know what the noise meant but I will try to find out. I'm still just so excited to see an animal that close in my own back garden. What a special treat!