As we celebrate the fifth annual Great Scottish Squirrel Survey (running from the 2nd – 8th October), when recording those all-important sightings, how can we ensure that the squirrels we’re spotting are indeed the species we believe? When a sighting is brief – perhaps seen from a moving vehicle, or a fleeting glimpse of a furry tail in a… […]
…There are now approximately 160,000 native red squirrels in Britain, of which over 75% live in Scotland Since the introduction of grey squirrels, they have become widespread across Britain due to their ability to adapt to new environments. They have also introduced the squirrel pox virus which, although catastrophic to red squirrels, appears to leave grey squirrels relatively unharmed due… […]
…Aberfeldy area to keep your eyes peeled for grey squirrels and report any sightings direct to our project website, scottishsquirrels.org.uk.” Grey squirrels were introduced to Scotland’s Central Belt in Victorian times and have since spread across the country, in many places completely replacing the native red squirrel population. At present the only way to prevent this spread is through targeted… […]
…squirrels are great fun to make and you get to play with them afterwards! To get started you’ll need plain flour, salt, water, a baking tray lined with baking paper, an oven or airing cupboard, paintbrushes, acrylic paint and varnish. An adult will need to help younger children with parts of this activity. Follow the link below for our easy… […]
…grey squirrel control in key areas. Join a Local Group Achievements to date Increase in grey squirrel control – Analysis of trapping results has shown an increase in grey squirrel detection, largely due to the increase in control activity across the region by volunteers and landowners, with volunteer cull contributions rising from 1.3% to 27% in the last four… […]
…In the future, we may be faced with squirrelpox in the Central Lowlands’ grey squirrel populations and it will be imperative that grey squirrel densities along the Highland Line are kept to a sufficiently low level, ensuring that there is insufficient circulating disease to be readily transmitted to neighbouring red squirrels. Where red squirrels do succumb locally to the disease,… […]
…over the Highland Line into red-only areas. Achievements to date Halting the spread of grey squirrels – Through concerted project efforts, we have seen no further spread of grey squirrels into the Highlands in recent years. Unfortunately grey squirrels will still continue to incur northwards along high-risk dispersal routes in areas such as eastern Angus towards the border with… […]
…single, accidental, introduction event in 1971. Within a few decades, grey squirrels replaced red squirrels throughout Aberdeen city. As their numbers increased they also spread into rural areas along the Dee, beyond Banchory, and the Don, as far as Inverurie, posing a threat to the red squirrels in wider Aberdeenshire and to nearby populations in Moray and the Highlands. SSRS… […]
…sightings while out walking locally brought in further reports, and we were able to target close monitoring to a few specific sites. In February, we were able to confirm grey squirrel presence in Pitlochry and initiate grey squirrel control measures in early spring. Finally, we can report success in removing the first grey squirrel from Pitlochry. This may not seem… […]
