To feed or not to feed?

therefore during the summer months before fruits, conifer seed and nuts are ripe, when their natural food is in short supply. In autumn when plenty of natural food is available, the squirrels may stop coming to your garden, but they will probably return in the winter. Continued feeding throughout the winter will also provide an additional boost to the squirrels… […]

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Join the Hub

Join the Hub Community action is the key to the long-term survival of Scotland’s red squirrels. The Hub is a space for our supporters and volunteers to keep up to date with the project and connect with like-minded people working to protect local red squirrel populations. Registered users can keep track of their squirrel sightings, and join a local red… […]

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News: Red letter day – Plean’s first red squirrel entered home through letterbox

…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 […]

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North East towns at the forefront of efforts to save Scotland’s red squirrels

them completely. Members of the public are being asked to help by reporting any squirrel sightings (red and grey) on the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels website, scottishsquirrels.org.uk. The project is also developing a Mearns Red Squirrel Community Group. Anyone interested in getting involved with red squirrel conservation work across the Mearns area can contact Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels at squirrels@scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk…. […]

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New Conservation Officer calls for the public to help protect red squirrels in the Scottish Borders

the more sightings we receive the better our understanding will be.” Grey squirrels are a non-native species that was first introduced to Britain in Victorian times, and they are recognised as the main threat to the red squirrel’s future in Scotland. Larger and more robust, they out-compete native reds for resources. In the south of Scotland some grey squirrels also… […]

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Building a Volunteer Network

…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, tal ked us through his experiences of creating an incorporated group . A Flying Start “… […]

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Call for Scots to become a nation of squirrel spotters this Red Squirrel Week

  This Red Squirrel Week (24-30 September) the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS) project is calling on Scots to lend a hand by recording sightings of red and grey squirrels in their local area.   The project has created a new online Hub where people all over Scotland can help protect one of the UK’s most threatened species by reporting… […]

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Reports of suspected squirrelpox near Cardrona

…area to please remove wildlife feeders from your gardens in order to avoid spreading the disease to healthy red squirrels visiting the feeders. Squirrelpox is a virus carried by grey squirrels without causing them any harm. However, if spread to red squirrels the disease is deadly. Feeding stations can encourage both species to come into close contact and increase the […]

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An Autumn Overview of Tree ID

…as the pine needles are soft if you run your hand over them. Also, the cones are described as large cigars. Douglas Fir is remembered as “groovy Dougie” as the bark is really grooved. And Scots Pine, as the bark is red towards the top, is remembered for its ginger resemblance like all things truly Scottish – including our native… […]

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New Frontiers for Volunteers

their red squirrels are relatively common and healthy compared to ours. They aren’t battling a larger competitor, nor the diseases brought by them, like our red squirrels are. Squirrel pox is a horrible, debilitating disease that kills the red squirrels that is carried by (some) grey squirrels which seem to be immune to the disease. If we could reduce the […]

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This Year's Sightings