{"id":13081,"date":"2022-04-20T11:00:12","date_gmt":"2022-04-20T11:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/?p=13081"},"modified":"2022-11-02T09:55:24","modified_gmt":"2022-11-02T09:55:24","slug":"domestic-dispute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.naturepl.com\/blog\/2022\/04\/20\/domestic-dispute\/","title":{"rendered":"Domestic Dispute"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a Wiltshire Garden, squirrels and jackdaws fought for weeks over possession of a nest box. <\/strong>Neither could have predicted their dispute would have a twist in the ending. <\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"EVICTION<\/a>
EVICTION NOTICE: A squirrel goes nuts when a jackdaw shows up and tries to evict the unwanted guest.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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A dispute over ownership of a nesting box has led to growing tensions between a pair of jackdaws and some squatting squirrels. Both species staked a claim over the modest abode \u2013 a large plywood box that photographer Nick Upton fixed to a beech tree in his Wiltshire garden in 2020. Upton had hoped that the box would encourage tawny owls to move in \u2013 but a pair of jackdaws adopted the box instead, and raised three chicks in it during the spring of 2021. The jackdaws returned to nest again in 2022 \u2013 only to find that some squatters had moved in.<\/p>\n

IN A FLAP<\/span><\/h3>\n

\u201cI noticed the jackdaws seemed very wary and jumpy, and then I saw why,\u201d says Upton. \u201cA grey squirrel pair had taken to sleeping in the box every night, while the jackdaws roosted in the treetops. When the birds returned to the box every morning, the squirrels would spring to the entrance and chase the jackdaws. But the birds would only fly a few feet away before launching a counterattack, dive bombing the intruders. Then, as soon as the squirrels emerged to feed, the jackdaws would chase them mercilessly, trying to peck them as they scampered up the tree trunk.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

GOING NUTS<\/span><\/h3>\n

But the tufty rodents weren\u2019t about to be pushed around so easily by a pair of featherweights. Both squirrels and jackdaws have quite dominant personalities, which makes them persistent. By spending long hours in a hide 70 feet away, Upton saw that the squirrels would come back when the jackdaws weren\u2019t around, and the conflict would start up again as soon as the birds returned: \u201cIt\u2019s been quite\u00a0comical to watch the jackdaws\u00a0jumping up and\u00a0down on the lid of the\u00a0box\u00a0and\u00a0pecking at it to\u00a0disturb the\u00a0squirrels.\u201d<\/p>\n