News and Blogs

Original Author: Kate Thomson We field numerous enquiries each year about what we can do to reduce red squirrel casualties on our roads. It's not a simple issue to tackle, but here are our thoughts.   The problem Have you ever seen a red squirrel dead on the side of the road? According to the Peoples Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) over 1 million animals are killed on UK roads every year. 3% of all red squirrels sightings records through our website from 2014 and 2015 were reported as dead on the road. I don’t think these figures are representative of the reality and would estimate that in fact far more red squirrels are killed on our roads. We know it is a problem in certain areas and we speak to a lot of people who are very concerned and want to take action. But what can you do? Red squirrels will come to ground when foraging for food, dispersing, or looking for a mate. Unfortunately they have no road sense and do not adhere to 'Stop! Look! Listen!'. Common interventions to reduce road deaths include the use of SLOW DOWN SQUIRREL CROSSING traffic signs and rope bridges strung up in the canopy allowing the squirrel to pass over the road without ever leaving the treetops. But are these methods effective? The Solution? Road signs may be a useful tool in informing people that red squirrels are in the area, and may raise awareness of the problem. However it is important to avoid an over proliferation of these signs, as this will dilute their effec ...

Original Author: Clare McInroy The sun had to disappear at some point and it just happened to be when I am out and about finding out what food is on offer for the squirrels in my local patch.   I knew I had got lucky with the weather for my first month in the Loch Lomond National Park. The minute I had surveys to do the dark fog crept in and most of Scotland woke up to the normality of autumn. Chilly mornings, soggy leaves pasted on the pavements, drizzle and the insatiable need for cup of tea after cup of tea. I secretly love this part of autumn. Although I admit performing surveys is much easier when you are not clinging to a weather writer clipboard trying to make sense of the soggy piece of paper that lies within. I have been undertaking food abundance surveys across the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park to understand exactly how successful autumn crops have been in the area. Assessing tree crops can help predict how red and grey squirrels will cope in the following months. Populations will show increases in reproduction in the years that  follow good food crops.  Following a set 1 kilometre transect line, I stop every 100 metres to assess what tree species are present and the amount of food available within the area. The transects have taken me through deciduous woodland with bramble thickets dominating the woodland floor, conifer plantations with bountiful cone bearing spruce and mixed woodland where Scot's Pine tower over young beech trees. At ...

Original Author: Steve Willis Last month we blogged about the amazing story of Rusty the red squirrel. Found as a tiny kitten, he was taken into the care of two phenomenally dedicated volunteers. They then passed him to the SSPCA who have recently released a healthy fully grown Rusty into the wild. Here are a few photos of him just before he was released.   A month or so ago we wrote about the journey of a very lucky little red squirrel. Found as a tiny kitten he was nursed into health by Dawn and Terry, two incredibly dedicated folks with a great deal of experience and knowledge. Dawn and Terry sought our advice as to what to do with regards to releasing Rusty back into the wild - they were clear he was never to be a pet or to be kept in captivity. They wanted to make sure he would be ready to live free. Over the course of their time with Rusty he grew bigger and stronger, and soon it was time for them to hand Rusty over to the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) who have the expertise, infrastructure, and experience to ensure he would be given the best chance. The SSPCA kept Rusty in a large outdoor cage, full of branches and all the right types of natural food. Here he met and interacted with other red squirrels. Photo: Colin Seddon SSPCA Rusty at his bright-eyed and bushy-tailed best! This is taken in the outdoor pen where Rusty had lots of room to climb, build strength and get used to the outdoor environment. He ...

  We now have a full team of project officers working in strategic locations in Scotland. Here's a little introduction from our newest recruits; Clare McInroy (Argyll, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs) and Kate Thomson (South West).   Clare McInroy My name is Clare McInroy and I'm delighted that I can introduce myself as the Project Officer for Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels in Argyll, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs. It’s been a brilliant time to start working in the area with the last days of hazy sunshine and the autumnal colours starting to appear. Working at the south of Loch Lomond means I am never far from the fantastic habitat on offer for red squirrels. The area I cover encompasses many points where red and grey squirrels crossover so it is important that we work with the project partners, the vast team of dedicated volunteers and local landowners to ensure red squirrels continue to thrive in the west. Kate Thomson Hello! My name is Kate Thomson and I am very excited to be in post here in the South West as Project Officer for Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels. Arriving at the office this week I was welcomed by two red squirrels! The South West of Scotland is a vast area with a fantastic array of habitats and species. We are lucky to still have excellent populations of native red squirrels in the area. However, grey squirrel populations continue to be a significant threat. I am looking forward to working with the amazing network of volunte ...

Original Author: Steve Willis As the seasons turn squirrel activity really picks up - read on to find out what our furry friends are up to. The days are shortening, there's a chill in the air, and everywhere you look the trees are starting to turn. It's autumn. Photo credit: Raymond Leinster There is a huge amount of squirrel activity over these next few months, and for many squirrels it's make or break. Autumn is the point in year when there is the most natural food available to squirrels. As trees set their seed in late summer squirrels eagerly anticipate the feast to come. They often start eating and gathering various fruits and seeds whilst they are still ripening. They will be keen to eat their fill as soon as they can, but also to begin hoarding seeds in their stores (called 'caches') for the winter period. Squirrels are scatter hoarders, meaning they move seeds (individually!) around and bury them throughout their home range. Key foods they will be seeking out are beech, hazel, and oak, all of which will be producing mature seeds (which is all collectively called 'mast') right now. The amount varies from year-to-year, with some years pretty lean and some years producing vast amounts of food. Across Scotland the past two autumns have been good mast years, and hence good for squirrels. Both red and grey squirrels benefit from this, but greys are slightly better adapted to broadleaved seeds and may do a little better after good mast years. After the r ...

Original Author: Steve Willis The inspiring story of two very dedicated humans and one very lucky red squirrel kitten. Rescuing and rehabilitating any wild animal is fraught with challenges and red squirrels are no exception. Here is the tail, sorry tale, of Rusty the Red!   Here is an account of the rehabilitation of a red squirrel kitten by two phenomenally dedicated volunteers, Dawn and Terry. Based in north east Scotland they have picked up a great deal of knowledge and experience of rescuing and rehabilitating wildlife. Whilst they had never reared a red squirrel before they knew enough about what young animals need to give it a fighting chance. We must emphasise that this sort of thing should only be undertaken by experienced professionals and that the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SSPCA) should always be contacted in the first instance upon finding an injured red squirrel. Over to Dawn and Terry... ‘Rusty was brought in to the vets on 20th August after being found on a road. At that point he weighed 80g and was heaving with lice, fleas and the odd tick. After some research, we learned that it was safe to use an Ivermectin based mite treatment for birds which worked well. We estimated him to be about 4 to 5 weeks old. Rusty as a tiny kitten, when he was first brought into the vets.  We carried him around in a hat and fed him on demand with kitten replacement milk using a syringe with a long teat on it. At tha ...

Original Author: Lorna Hutchison Most people seem to think that taking school children into the woods getting them to cook lunch on an open campfire, then giving them axes and knives is crazy. But not at Green Aspirations.   Over the last few weeks of the summer holidays I joined the team at Green Aspirations and school pupils from all over West Dunbartonshire 5 times. Green Aspirations is a place where city kids of all ages can get out of the city and into the forest to play and re-connect with nature. The school pupils I worked with there were all spending the summer working towards their John Muir Awards, learning about the outdoors and bush craft skills at Green Aspirations (hence the campfire, axes and knives), which is where I came in. I taught them about squirrel ecology, explained why the Grey Squirrel is a threat, destroyed squirrel myths (nope, they don’t hibernate!), asked them to search for signs of squirrel activity (cone debris, scratch marks etc.), to build dreys (squirrel nests), and encouraged them to look for squirrels and report their sightings in their day-to-day lives to help our project. Although we didn’t see a squirrel while at Green Aspirations, we did see plenty of evidence so maybe, just maybe there are squirrels still there and we didn’t scare them off with all the noise! They (the school pupils) seemed to really enjoy learning about squirrels, quoting me back to me and asking more questions when they were next at Green Aspira ...

Original Author: Ken Neil Tayside PO PO Ken Neil is getting on his bike to cycle fifty miles from Glasgow to Edinburgh and raise funds for the project. You can cheer him on by making a donation.   Cycling for squirrels - not a handbook for greys to help them get "on their bikes" but your friendly Tayside project officer taking to the roads in aid of Scottish squirrels. On September 6th 2015 thousands of cyclists will be taking on the challenge of a fifty mile bike run from Glasgow to Edinburgh. I'll be one of them. Rather than just have a jolly day out with my mates I have decided to try and raise some funds to help my wee red pals. I am a keen cyclist (I even cycled 300 miles along the banks of the Nile once) but haven't had the opportunity to get out much this year. So, it's training time and a chance to get out and about on the hills of Fife, where I live. It's tough going to get started again but nice to be out on the quieter country roads among the woods where there are still reds to be found. Greys have crept in, as a dead one on the road near Peat Inn (it wusnae me!) testified last night. It's quite motivating to have a purpose to the hard work and sore legs (Peat Inn is 200 metres above sea level - ooyah!) and if any SSRS supporters would like to push me on I have started a Just Giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/Kensredsquirrelcycle where you can donate. If you do, I'll dedicate a mile to you on my way to Edinburgh.

Original Author: Steve Willis A guest blog from Rosy of Deeside Knitwits. Rosy and the Knitwits have recently made some truly amazing knitted red squirrels which they have gifted to SSRS. Here's a bit of background into what they do and how it all started! And if you didn't know what 'knitadermy' was, you soon will! Over to Rosy.....   'I've been guerrilla knitting for quite a few years now along with running the Deeside Knitwits community knitting group. Each year we make a knitted installation to help raise awareness and funds for local charities.   We started off showing our knitted nonsense at Voluntary Services Aberdeen's Easter Anguston Farm in Peterculter. Our projects included a 20 metre long snake, a flock of sheep, a knitted tractor and giant pandas which went on to be displayed at Edinburgh Zoo... Sales of sheep and pandas raised over £1000 for VSA.     We then moved to Braemar and  started displaying our work during the Braemar Creative Arts Festival in October. Over the past couple of years we've set out a trail of knitted red squirrels and one of knitted birds, along with Elmer a multicoloured knitted stag (as featured on Winterwatch), and a patchwork youth shelter, raising over £2000 shared between SSRS, SWT, CLAN, Braemar Village Hall and Sherpa village rebuilding project.   This year we're knitting flowers to cover the bridge in the centre of Braemar, and mushrooms for the trail. Come and see our creations betw ...

Original Author: Paul McDonald   Paul McDonald, Project Officer for Argyll & the Trossachs, is very sad to be leaving the project this week. Please continue to report your sightings on this website!   Sadly, this is my last week working as Project Officer for Saving Scotland's Red squirrels. I've had a very interesting year of work, with some great colleagues and working in one of the most accessible scenic areas in Scotland: Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park (www.lochlomond-trossachs.org). Along with all of my red squirrel friends (and grey squirrel "enemies"...), I have seen an amazing variety of wildlife, including: otters, pine marten, red deer, roe deer, goosanders, ravens, and even a slow worm in this poor summer. I am leaving this position to start training as a science/biology teacher, in order to have a greater influence on people's love and understanding of the natural world. Those of you who read this probably don't need to be encouraged to enjoy and learn about wildlife, but far too many adults don't care about nature and don't engage with it. My goal is to try and encourage children to understand and enjoy their place in nature and, hopefully, encourage them to protect it more than their parents are now. Get 'em while they're young, huh...? The new project Officer will start working in September, so don't be too disheartened if the Argyll and The Trossachs Project Officer does not reply before then! Also, please keep reportin ...