Bob Peace from the Glenkens Red Squirrel Group shares his inspiration for getting involved in red squirrel conservation and explains how the volunteer group has gone from strength to strength in recent times. As a young boy growing up in West Yorkshire in the 1950s, red squirrels were a common sight and grey […]
Category: Blog
Help the Solway Forests with your best red squirrel snaps
The Solway Forests Red Squirrel Network, one of the newest volunteer networks to emerge in South Scotland, is raising funds and awareness through an amateur photography competition. Have you taken a red squirrel photograph that you’re particularly proud of? With their fondness for scurrying high amongst the trees, it’s not always easy to […]
Images of Saving Britain’s Native Squirrel
By Rebecca Witt Earlier this year, student and wildlife photographer Rebecca Witt spent some time with Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels as part of her mission to capture Britain’s red squirrel conservation movement on camera. Hello! My name is Rebecca and I had the pleasure of working with Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS) […]
Volunteers’ Week 2018
1-7 June is Volunteers’ Week, a chance to say thank you to the hundreds of volunteers who make saving Scotland’s red squirrels possible.
We asked two of our spring survey volunteers to tell us more about their experience, including the highlights (and challenges!) of monitoring squirrel populations in Scotland. […]
Busy breeding
By Dr Sarah Garven It’s about this time of year that many red squirrels set to work on producing a second litter of kits. Guest blogger Dr Sarah Garven gives us an insight into the life of a red squirrel during the busy breeding season. Spring has made its late but very […]
Argaty Red Kites celebrate their other star species with a new red squirrel hide
Red squirrels AND red kites? Yes please! We were delighted to hear that a new red squirrel hide will open today at Argaty Red Kites. Located near Doune in Perthshire, Argaty has managed a red kite feeding station since 1996. Previously persecuted to extinction, these native birds of prey were successfully reintroduced to […]
An update on the Heathhall squirrelpox outbreak
Original Author: Dr Stephanie Johnstone One month on, Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels believe that the squirrelpox outbreak in Heathhall no longer poses an immediate threat to the local red squirrel population. However, we still need ongoing support from volunteers and the wider community. Spotting a red squirrel on your morning walk should be something […]
Invasive Species Week: the road to recovery
The grey squirrel is one of the country’s most widely recognised animals, but not everyone knows that it is a non-native species. As 23 – 29 March is ‘Invasive Species Week’, we reflect on the progress that’s been made in managing and preventing the negative impact of grey squirrels on their native counterparts in Scotland. […]
Pine martens: a natural ally
Author: Dr Mel Tonkin A new study has confirmed that Scotland’s recovering pine martens are having a positive effect on red squirrels. Conservationists have long suspected that pine martens could help control the spread of grey squirrels in Scotland, a theory that was bolstered when research conducted in Ireland in 2014 produced very promising results. […]
Spring into survey time
Original Author: Alexa Seagrave It’s February and preparations are well underway for the 2018 squirrel survey. Conservation Officer Alexa Seagrave explains what the survey is all about and why spring is such a great time to get outdoors and look for squirrels. Last week we published the results of our 2017 squirrel survey, with […]