Sounds of gnawing

So, I went for a trot around the copse and decided to commune with the Copse Oak. Why the hell not?

I stood there. Just leaning against the tree, listening to the birds. Fieldfare amd redwing as well as the year-round copse inhabitants.

Then I heard a noise. It sounded like someone was, well, gnawing the oak. The sound reverberated through the great tree. It was odd... and it made me consider how woodpeckers use the wood of trees as instruments for the courting displays. And of how tree holes are very good homes for small creatures because the wood amplifies the sound of approaching predators.

I thought, "Is a squirrel using the oak to send a message?"

At that point a different squirrel ran along this fallen branch before stopping abruptly upon noticing me.

And, simultaneously I heard the squirrel in the Copse Oak scrabbling and leaping through the branches in pursuit of the retreating other.

(Spot the squirrel.)

Maybe I was right... or maybe squirrels don't intend others to hear, but those who hear still respond.