News and Blogs

  Network groups across South Scotland priority areas are ensuring the long-term survival of native red squirrels through community action. In our project’s priority areas, some of these groups are already beginning to see red squirrel populations bounce back.   Red squirrel groups have been invaluable in collective conservation efforts to date in South Scotland and are led by enthusiastic and dedicated volunteers. These volunteers make contributions at every level; from fundraising and public awareness to survey and monitoring to grey squirrel trapping and dispatch.   Earlier this month, we published a new guide for these groups on how to build a volunteer network. This easy to follow guide contains everything you need to know from setting up your first meeting to sourcing new members and funding. Today, we wanted to share first hand experiences and lessons learned from those who have joined the movement and established their own local groups.     Gatehouse Squirrel Group The Gatehouse Squirrel Group was founded in early 2015, in response to a perceived increase of grey squirrels and the detection of squirrelpox in surrounding areas. Since then the group has come on leaps and bounds, with a network that now extends from the Carrick Shore to Creetown on the coast, and inland towards Laurieston and Ringford. Peter Garson, Chairman of the group, talked us through his experiences of creating an incorporated group. � ...

Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels have been working in partnership with Aberdeen City Council to develop strategies for protecting Scotland’s native red squirrels in the North East since the project first began. At the ALGE (Association of Local Government Ecologists) awards in December, this work was acknowledged with a special commendation certificate.     Celebrating ALGE’s 25th year anniversary, the Association recognised its members’ and partners’ contributions to furthering nature conservation and the way it is delivered at local government level through a series of awards. Ten proactive projects and organisations were nominated for the collaborative working award; including the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels project.   Following years of targeted control efforts throughout Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire, red squirrels have begun to recolonise and make their way back into the city centre. Aberdeen residents are now reporting sightings of reds squirrels returning to areas that have only known grey squirrels for several decades.     Ian Talboys, Aberdeen City Council Countryside Officer and Gwen Maggs, SSRS North East Conservation Officer with the ALGE Awards Certificate   This result would not have been possible without the support of Aberdeen City Council; a collaboration that has facilitated access to, and management within crucial habitats on council land. The initiative has proven hugely s ...

  We have not one but three exciting new opportunities to join the Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels team in 2020.   Conservation Officer Location: Aberdeen Region: North East Scotland (Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire) Contract: Fixed term until March 2022 Closing date: 12 noon, Monday 20 January The successful candidate will manage a small team of grey squirrel management professionals to deliver an established programme of grey squirrel control and support volunteer-delivered surveys to monitor red and grey squirrels. Working in partnership with land managers and householders, Forest and Land Scotland and Aberdeen City Council, the Conservation Officer will engage with the public to engender support for the project. He/she will promote the project to stakeholders and engage with the local and national media. APPLY NOW   Project Administrator Location: Leith Region: Nationwide Contract: Fixed term for 2 years Closing date: 12 noon, Monday 13 January A vacancy has arisen for a highly organised and efficient Administrator to work alongside project staff in delivering and developing the project’s Community Engagement and Communications plan.  The post holder will play a key role supporting staff through sourcing and purchase of equipment, booking and administration of a programme of events and volunteer training across all project regions and ensuring that project staff are supported in a variety of ...

  Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels has published the results of this year’s Great Scottish Squirrel Survey, when over 600 people reported 828 sightings in just one week. The results will enhance conservationists’ understanding of squirrel populations across Scotland. The campaign, which ran from 23 – 29 September, encouraged the Scottish public to spend some time exploring the outdoors while keeping a lookout for both red and grey squirrels. Sightings were reported on the project website. Dr Mel Tonkin, Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels Project Manager said: “Sightings records give us a good indication of how red and grey squirrel populations are distributed. Monitoring changes in these populations over time helps us understand the situation and make better conservation decisions. “We’d like to thank everyone who took the time to get outdoors and take part in the survey”   The results map shows that red squirrels are still widespread across the north of the country, with a large number of sightings reported in Scotland’s Central Lowlands to the north of Edinburgh and Glasgow. In the North East, the only grey squirrel sightings were concentrated in Aberdeen. Targeted control work has significantly reduced this population in recent years, and efforts have been rewarded with increasingly frequent red squirrel sightings in city locations such as Duthie Park and Aberdeen University. The majority of grey squirrel sightings during the ...

  Dr Jenny Bryce, Scottish Natural Heritage Wildlife Ecologist, discusses how evidence is shaping conservation strategy; reflecting on invasives insights upon the publication of a paper co-written by Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels’ Dr Mel Tonkin.   In July 2017 Mel Tonkin, SSRS Project Manager, presented a paper at the IUCN Island Invasives conference held in Dundee. This was the third Island Invasives conference and a valuable opportunity to share experiences of invasive species related conservation projects from across the globe. The theme for this conference was ‘scaling up to meet the challenge’; particularly fitting for a landscape-scale project as it progressed from demonstrating effectiveness to sustaining action. Although not set up as a scientific research project, SSRS has always advocated a data-driven approach to evaluating the effectiveness of conservation activity. Following the publication of the paper, we take the opportunity to reflect on what evidence has highlighted to date. A key question has always been, how much grey squirrel control is required in Scotland to protect red squirrels and how can it be delivered? The paper provides a narrative of how the project has sought to co-ordinate red squirrel protection over the project’s lifetime with a focus on evidence gathered. At the outset it is recognised that grey squirrel control has differing goals in various project areas - based on how established grey populations are; ...

The seasons have changed and our walkways are now covered with leaves of orange, yellow, red and brown. Autumn is one of the best times to get playful with tree identification while there is so much to pick up and investigate. What colours and shapes can you see? Are there fruits and nuts on the ground, or still on the tree?   Earlier this year, members of the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels team went on a tree ID training day. Here’s a few tips that they wanted to share along with some useful links to see you on any autumn identification adventures.         The basics Coniferous or deciduous? When submitting a squirrel sighting, we give options to select what type of habitat the squirrel was spotted in. Having a basic knowledge of tree identification comes in helpful here and sharing this allows us to investigate which habitats squirrels appear to be thriving in. Spotting the difference between a coniferous and deciduous tree in autumn is simple. Deciduous trees with broad leaves, change colour and often lose their leaves at this time of year whereas most cone-bearing coniferous trees that have needles, stay green year-round. Some of Scotland’s oldest native trees are coniferous, such as Scots Pine. A fun fact about another native coniferous tree, Juniper, is that it has stems that are fragrant throughout – it isn’t just their distinctive, infamous berries that are aromatic!   Finding clues So what are some of t ...

  The first recorded red squirrel in Plean near Stirling in many years was spotted in the most unlikely of places - a local resident’s living room.   William Higgins was surprised to find the animal frantically scrambling around his home last month. He said: “I was in the kitchen when I thought I heard the post being delivered. When I went to pick up the mail I found the wee rascal running around the living room at a hundred miles an hour, all over the furniture. “I just wanted to let him out without hurting him. He went for the window so I lifted the blinds and opened it. He saw the opening and was off like lightning.” The squirrel left unharmed by the incident, and Mr Higgins reported the sighting to Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels, who monitor squirrel populations across Scotland. Mary-Anne Collis, Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels Conservation Officer said: “People will be much more used to seeing squirrels in the woods but this sighting is doubly surprising because it’s the first recorded red squirrel in Plean since our project began ten years ago, although we knew they weren’t too far away. “It’s an encouraging sign that the work we’re doing to protect red squirrels in Stirlingshire with support from National Lottery players is having a positive impact. Plean is just the latest example of a town where people are reporting seeing red squirrels return after years of absence, we’ve also had recent sightings in Dunbl ...

  Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels has won a Helping It Happen award! It’s not every day you see a red squirrel in the centre of Edinburgh, not least one surrounded by twinkling lights, clinking glasses and the chatter of people in tuxedos and cocktail dresses. It was only a projection, but still the image represented how far Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels has come in the past few years. Last week we attended the Helping It Happen Awards, where we were a finalist in the conservation category. Run by project partner Scottish Land & Estates, the awards are intended to highlight how landowners and rural businesses across Scotland play a key role in enabling and supporting success in rural areas. Landowners play a crucial role in red squirrel conservation, whether they are granting permission to carry out surveys or grey squirrel control on their land, or taking part in control work themselves either on a voluntary basis or through the Forestry Grant Scheme. As a project we have always worked closely with landowners in our priority areas, and these relationships have strengthened since support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund has enabled our team to expand and dedicate more effort to ‘developing community action’. We talk a lot about inspiring public support and creating volunteer networks, but landowners are also very much part of the communities we’re aiming to reach. We felt we were a strong contender for the award, but the competition wa ...

  We want to help you get the most out of your Great Scottish Squirrel Survey week and give you the best opportunity possible to see our furry friends out in the wild. Our SSRS Conservation Officers from across the country have come up with a guide of subtle signs, memorable marks and helpful hints to assist you on your adventures over the next few days.     Where & When  You could plan a trip almost anywhere in Scotland, or even just outside your front door. There are a number of well-known squirrel stomping grounds you could visit; however, it is equally important to consider an area that could be an ideal squirrel habitat where few sightings have been recorded before.   Squirrels live in trees, and although dense woodland is a prime habitat they can also be seen in urban areas where pockets of trees can be found – so don’t rule out the possibility of seeing a squirrel if you live near a city.   Our sightings maps are a useful tool in seeing where both reds and greys have been recently spotted across Scotland. We also have a map on our red squirrels information page with some additional information on key red squirrel sighting locations.   You can look for squirrels at any time of the day. Autumn is a fantastic time of year for squirrel spotting as they are often more visible than usual as they busily gather food, preparing themselves for the colder months ahead. We can recommend early m ...

Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels is calling on people all over Scotland to take part in the Great Scottish Squirrel Survey between 23 – 29 September.   During this week (which coincides with National Red Squirrel Week) the Scottish public will be encouraged to spend some time exploring the outdoors while keeping a lookout for both red and grey squirrels. They can then report where and when they saw them on the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels website, scottishsquirrels.org.uk Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels is a partnership project led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust that is working to protect red squirrels where they are most under threat from the spread of non-native grey squirrels. Squirrel sightings received from members of the public help the project understand how red and grey squirrel populations are changing over time and decide where to focus conservation efforts. Dr Mel Tonkin, SSRS Project Manager said: “We monitor squirrel populations throughout the year, and in 2018 we received an incredible 8,400 squirrel sightings from members of the public. “This year, thanks to support from National Lottery players, we’re trying something a bit different. By going out and looking for squirrels during the Great Scottish Squirrel Survey people can help us create a more detailed snapshot of the current situation on the ground.” Autumn is an ideal time of year for squirrel-watching. With leaves falling they can be easier to spot as they move t ...