News and Blogs

  We often say that we couldn’t save Scotland’s red squirrels without the hard work and dedication of our volunteers, and we mean it!   Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels is a pretty big team. We have 19 full-time members of staff, rising to 27 during the summer months. Whether we’re carrying out grey squirrel control work, engaging with local communities or making sure the bills get paid, there’s always plenty to be getting on with. Often it feels like there’s too much to do! We are a large team, but we cover vast areas up and down the country – anywhere where Scotland’s core red squirrel populations are threatened by the spread of grey squirrels. Our staff are always running around and running out of time; and without the help of volunteers, things would very quickly turn to chaos. To celebrate Volunteers’ Week, here’s some numbers that demonstrate just how valuable our volunteers are to us. Students from Borders College volunteering in this year's spring survey   182 182 volunteers participated in this year’s spring survey, visiting feeder boxes multiple times between April and March to collect hair samples for analysis.   208 208 trained volunteers have carried out grey squirrel control work since 2017, helping ensure Scotland's core red squirrel populations are fully protected.   416 Since 2017, volunteers have spent 416 hours engaging with the public, helping to raise awareness of red squirrel con ...

  Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels has confirmed that a squirrelpox outbreak is spreading along the Solway coast. Locals are urged to remain vigilant as this fatal disease could have serious consequences for the area’s red squirrel populations. In recent weeks at least 15 red squirrels have died as a result of squirrelpox, with more sick squirrels spotted across an area that spans from Palnackie to Carsethorn. With the outbreak ongoing and continuing to spread, Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels is calling on people to remove any wildlife feeding equipment and report squirrel sightings to the project. Squirrelpox is a virus that is carried by grey squirrels without them being affected. Native red squirrels do not typically have immunity. Symptoms include lesions which prevent the red squirrel from eating, drinking or moving. As a result, it is usually fatal within two weeks and an outbreak can cause local numbers to crash. Wildlife feeder boxes and garden bird tables increase the risk of squirrelpox transmission as they bring squirrels of both species into closer contact with one another. While the virus is initially spread by grey squirrels, once it has entered the red squirrel population, red-to-red squirrel transmission will also occur. It is therefore imperative that all squirrels are prevented from coming into close contact at feeders during an outbreak. Although squirrelpox outbreaks have become relatively common in the south of Scotland, this area has n ...

  This week is national Invasive Species Week, 13-17 May, which aims to raise awareness across Great Britain about invasive species and their impacts.   Being a project all about invasive species, here at the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative, we’re quite excited about having a whole week of lots of people talking about Invasive Species and we’d love everyone to share in our enthusiasm and learn something new during the week. For example, did you know that… The estimated total annual costs of invasive non-native species to Scotland is more than £250 million? Giant hogweed leaves, which contain skin-burning sap, can grow up to 1m wide? Predation by the invasive American mink was one of the main factors in the staggering 94% decline in native water vole populations? The American skunk-cabbage plant does actually smell as bad as a skunk….   White butterburr was imported as a garden ornamental from mainland Europe and SW Asia and escaped into the wild.   What is an Invasive Species? There are around 2,000 non-native plants and animals in the UK, these non-native species are species that have been transported here from their native range with the assistance of humans (either deliberately or accidently).  Of these only 10-15% go on to cause problems, having a negative impact on our environment, our economy or our way of life – these are termed as invasive non-native species.   Why are invasives proble ...

  As it’s National Gardening Week we thought we would share some tips on how to make your garden more red squirrel-friendly. By making a few small changes, you could be helping some of your local residents stay bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.   Have you ever winced as yet another neighbour monoblocks their front garden, or covers their back garden with plastic turf? Then you’ll understand that it’s never been more important to create safe havens for wildlife in our urban and suburban environments. Fortunately, while some people continue to push out nature in favour of cars and convenience, others are making space in their lives for a bit of wildness. Thanks to increased awareness in recent years we’re leaving gaps in fences for hedgehogs, creating log piles for insects and providing a vital source of food for the local birds. Creating a wildlife-friendly garden comes with the reward of experiencing closer encounters with some of the creatures that share our living space with us. If you’re lucky enough to have red squirrels visit your garden then you’ll know that their antics can provide plenty of entertainment! By managing your garden with red squirrels in mind you’ll not only be increasing your chances of observing them at close quarters, you’ll be helping ensure the local population can continue to make its home in the area. © Steve Gardner   Grow plants that benefit red squirrels There are a number of shrubs and trees you c ...

  After years of carefully targeted grey squirrel control, we were excited to hear that a red squirrel has been spotted in Luss. It’s a sign that our native reds are beginning to make a comeback on Loch Lomond’s western shores. Luss Estate is a nationally important area for red squirrel conservation because it sits on the Highland Boundary Fault line, where the grey squirrels of the Central Belt meet Scotland’s core red squirrel populations in the Highlands. It’s therefore crucial that we prevent the greys from spreading any further north, and that their numbers are reduced to allow nearby red populations to recolonise the area. Our data shows that red squirrels completely disappeared from Loch Lomond’s western shore except for a small enclave at Tarbet, while grey squirrels have been well established in the Luss area for over a century. Thanks to the efforts of Luss Estate, other private landowners and Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels project staff and volunteers along the western shore, it looks like the tide is beginning to turn. Now that one red squirrel has been spotted in a Luss resident’s garden we’re hoping we’ll see many more red sightings popping up on our sightings map in the months and years to come. Change is also happening in other areas to the west of Loch Lomond. Last week Arrochar resident Fiona Jackson reported seeing a red squirrel in her garden for the first time ever! Local volunteers have been contributing to our grey squirr ...

  Gala Men’s Shed, part of the Men’s Shed network across Scotland, put their impressive array of tools and woodworking skills to good use in aid of red squirrel conservation.   A small team of Shed members made a whopping 83 feeder boxes for Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels’ annual squirrel survey. Saws and screws at the ready, they turned all the wood into feeder boxes in only 2 days! The squirrel survey is carried out each spring during March and April. It’s a huge undertaking, only possible with the efforts of volunteers. There are 115 survey sites across south Scotland, and each survey site needs four feeder boxes. Feeder boxes are cleaned and re-used most of the time, but we still need to replace around 20% each year as they get chewed to bits by hungry squirrels. Each feeder box has a bit of sticky Velcro on the lid of the box, so when a squirrel opens the box to get to the food, it leaves a sample of hair on the sticky pad. These hair samples are then analysed under a microscope to determine which species of squirrels are in the area. All this information allows us to track long-term changes in squirrel distribution. It doesn’t give us any idea of how many squirrels are in an area, just which species of squirrel is found there. Without the hard work of the gents of Gala Men’s Shed, our annual spring survey would be much harder to organise. And it’s not just Gala Men’s Shed that is getting in on the action. Dalbeattie Men’s Sh ...

  Yesterday we published our 2018 squirrel survey report. It concluded that while red squirrel populations are stable in most parts of Scotland, in the south they continue to be threatened by disease and competition from the spread of non-native grey squirrels.   Many papers have reported that our survey only detected 59 red squirrels in South Scotland – a very alarming figure! However, our survey isn’t designed to count squirrel numbers, it’s designed to help us understand how red and grey squirrel distribution is changing over time. In the report, 59 was quoted as the number of locations in the south of Scotland that were surveyed in both 2017 and 2018, and could therefore be compared. The figure isn’t linked to squirrel numbers, or squirrel distribution.   What does the spring survey tell us? Each year between March and April, staff and volunteers monitor four feeder boxes placed within a 2km square called a ‘tetrad’. Hair samples are collected from the feeder boxes at two-week intervals, which are then analysed under a microscope to determine the species. This gives us a good indication of whether that tetrad contains red squirrels, grey squirrels, both species, or no squirrels. Of course, in one year a feeder box may not be visited by every species in the area, but when compared over the course of many years, this landscape-scale approach to monitoring can provide a strong indication of how both species are faring. By und ...

  Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels has published the results of its 2018 annual survey, which indicate that while most of Scotland’s red squirrel populations remain stable, populations in southern Scotland remain under threat.   Since 2011, Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels has been monitoring squirrel populations in the parts of the country where red squirrels are most threatened by the spread of non-native grey squirrels. Grey squirrels, which were introduced to Britain from North America in the 19th Century, out-compete red squirrels for resources, and can also carry squirrelpox, a virus that doesn't harm them but is deadly to reds. Previous survey results have indicated that red squirrel populations in the project’s focal areas had stabilised, a sign that with continued effort from conservationists and volunteers, the decline of Scotland’s core red squirrel populations can be halted. 2018’s survey results again make optimistic reading regarding the future of red squirrels in North East Scotland and the Central Lowlands. In southern Scotland, however, while the proportion of survey sites detecting red squirrels has remained constant, the number of sites with a grey squirrel presence has significantly increased, suggesting that grey squirrels are continuing to move into what was previously “red only” territory. Although red and grey squirrels can live side by side for a short period of time, in most wooded landscapes, grey squirrels will ...

  When squirrelpox first arrived in the south of Scotland in 2005, there were fears that the virus would prove devastating to the region's red squirrels. The project was also concerned that without conservation action the virus would continue to spread north towards Scotland's core red squirrel populations in the Highlands. Prof Andy White of Heriot-Watt University and Dr Peter Lurz of Edinburgh University explain how mathematical modelling has helped Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels develop a strategy for protecting red squirrels in both the Central Lowlands and South Scotland.   Mathematics seems perhaps an unlikely tool to help save red squirrels in Scotland, yet for the last five years it has been an integral part of Scottish Wildlife Trust, Scottish Natural Heritage and Forestry Commission Scotland conservation efforts. Our knowledge of squirrel reproduction, dispersal, mortality, competition and squirrelpox transmission allows us to create mathematical models that simulate how red and grey squirrel populations change over time. The models can be combined with satellite maps of forest and squirrel habitat distribution to determine, for example, the spread and impact of squirrelpox virus on red squirrel populations in real Scottish landscapes. The approach has been pioneered by Prof. Andy White and his team at Heriot-Watt University, and the models are a cost-effective approach to guide and help maximise the success of conservation efforts. To date th ...

  Monitoring Officer Nina Schönberg explains how we use camera traps to survey squirrels in Aberdeenshire, often with entertaining results!   On top of our regular hair sample-based surveys, in the North East we also run a camera-trapping survey in specially selected woodlands. Camera Traps (or Trail Cameras) are designed to detect movement and changes in temperature (i.e. body heat) in order to capture pictures of wildlife in their natural habitat without disturbing them, thus allowing the recording of natural behaviors. Most cameras let you choose between photos and video recording, and select the intervals between which photos will not be taken. In the North East, we use them in association with a specially designed camera box, which was developed by the James Hutton Institute. With the camera attached to the other end of the box, accompanied by a macro lens and with the box filled with feed in front of the camera, we’re able to capture beautiful close-up photos of any animal that comes to investigate! The set up of Bushnell cameras we use for our surveying. The flash is covered to avoid over-exposure   The cameras also take high quality pictures at night-time (here is a red squirrel, easily recognised from the ear tufts)   We place the cameras high up (>3m) in the trees and leave them for two weeks, visiting halfway through to top up the feed (peanuts and maize). While this is done to ensure that any animal that lives in t ...