h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Who Shelled the Nut? - A45829911
Author: LLWaz - U123301

A Stretcher Shell entry.

Not very exciting but a current shell obsession from a Christmas holiday walk and what turned out to be wood moused or bank voled nut.

More of these would be great, if anyone knows any. Particularly any difference between red and grey squirrel hazelnut MOs. I've spent ages searching and drawn a complete blank.

Waz

I can't help in your quest for further suspects, but I thoroughly enjoyed this ramble through the countryside

Best of luck with the rest of the competition

Great one

I'll be looking when I'm walking the dog next year.

This is a really good entry, irrespective of the 'shell' theme.

Teeny, weeny nit-pick: Dormouse eaten >> Dormouse-eaten

Ms GB

We've a grey squirrel at work who won't eat nuts unless they're encased in chocolate. Turns his nose up at the unshelled variety.

Great Entry, loved reading it

Thanks all . Hyphen added to dormouse-eaten, and also a little more I found on wood mice/bank voles.

Chocolate shelled nuts, a whole new angle!

Very interesting, I think I'll look out for empty shells in the future.

As for your question about the difference between grey and red squirrels: from what I've found, they don't differ in their habits. It's just that the grey squirrels are stronger, weigh more than the reds, and steal the provisions of the red squirrels, such ensuring their own survival and weakening the reds. If the population numbers I found (only one red squirrel in 66 grey ones) is anything to go by and the development continues, it won't be long until your question becomes obsolete anyway.

Hmm. Intriguing question. I've been trying to remember which animals gnaws a hole in the shell of a nut before burying it, in order to stop it sprouting. I've a feeling it can't be squirrels because they're credited with planting trees, whereas this little varmint (could be a bird, now I come to think of it) ensures that a tree never grows from the nut, whether it forgets where it hid it or not.

Re the difference between shells left by grey or red squirrels, best of luck to you in ever finding anything a red got to before a grey could bag it - but, I guess if you find it in an area where greys live and breed, it was them. Reds don't hang around in such areas, do they? Merry Anne's put her finger on it.

I enjoyed reading this with The Stretcher

There was very valid crit in the Stretcher comments, about my dropping the forensic ball at the end. I've thought of a way to correct that and will do in a day or two, now the Strecher week 2 task is done.

Updated in line with the Stretcher crits.

There's a link problem, I've two adjacent h2g2 entry links - 'Lewis Carrol' and 'Alice' - and can't space them. Anyone know a fix for that?

Lewis Carroll’s Alice

That should work!

Done,

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Well done!

Lovely this, thank you Waz

It's ages since the last one.