SQUIRRELS IN ESSEX
73
1960-1972 Grey Squirrel Records
As can be seen from Map 4 this species is now widely distributed
throughout the county and is one of our most frequently recorded mam-
mals. There are records for every ten-kilometre square that lies entirely
within the county boundaries, and of the ten-kilometre squares that lie
partially within the county only three (viz. TQ 57, TR 09 and TM 21) lack
Grey Squirrel records. In fact all three of these squares consist largely of
coastal marshland or reclaimed farmland which is an unsuitable habitat
for the animal.
Map 4
In the 1971 Squirrel Survey Grey Squirrels were considered to be absent
in twenty-three parishes in Essex (Map 5, Table 3). With the exception of
Helions Bumpstead on the Suffolk border, all these parishes lie in the east
and south-east of the county in the coastal areas; none of the coastal
islands has been colonised.
Most of the areas of suitable habitat within the county have now been
colonised by the Grey Squirrel. Since 1960 records have been made from
a wide range of habitats, including both deciduous and coniferous wood-
lands, suburban gardens and parks, scrubland, isolated trees and hedge-
rows. No doubt in the next few years some of the remaining unoccupied
parishes will be invaded, although a large area of the coastal strip, and
most of the islands, will probably never hold resident populations of Grey