Squirrels across the country are splooting from the heat (slate.com)

Where have the squirrels gone? And many of the birds too? 

I've been a home worker since lockdown and in the last 2-3 years have seen squirrels where I don't recall them before in our garden burying their nuts, my wife feeding and taming several different individuals, splooting (now I know that's a thing) and I assume aggressing each other in the trees with this chuuu chuuu chuuur noise I didn't know they made.  Now barely a one.

Similar on birds - the dawn chorus in May/June seemed epic. Pigeons and crow family still around, but not the numbers of finches we used to get, we had a brood of starlings who have gone, blackbirds seem to have gone, sparrows in their quarrelsome flocks are around but less frequent. Country walks often silent. 

"Sploot" is a most cromulent word - I'll try using it in as many conversations as possible

I hope no-one takes this personally but I came here expecting to find the temperature at which squirrels spontaneously combust.

Fortunately for those of that persuasion there's a wikihow:

https://www.wikihow.com/Cook-Squirrel