…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… […]
…which never materialises. Red squirrels, meanwhile are haring around, eating what they can, burying nuts, and scurrying in the direction of their dreys. Contrary to popular belief, squirrels do not hibernate. However they do spent less time in search of food, and more time sleeping. To provide warmth and protection from the elements during the coldest months, squirrels build winter… […]
…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… […]
…infected red squirrels that were originally spotted have died. Squirrelpox is a particularly aggressive virus in red squirrels, and is normally fatal within two weeks. Although very sad for the individual animals, we are hopeful that no new sightings of sick red squirrels means that the outbreak has passed. No grey squirrels were captured on site during our period of… […]
…a mp4 file. Full instructions are on the Microsoft website. If you are simply going to be talking to the camera then a smartphone will provide sufficient quality in most cases. Make sure your phone is in landscape mode and on a stand / propped up somewhere steady. An indoor location with soft furnishings will provide the best sound quality…. […]
…PARC ( ‘priority areas for red squirrel conservation’) boundaries in the South , groups can r esearch and apply for various funding opportunities . “ My start-up funds (ca. £600), used to print publicity materials and buy traps, hoppers and bait, came from residual funds held by Red Squirrels in South Scotland, a local charity (Murray-Usher Foundation) and my Community… […]
…blue to purple as both species began to show up. And finally, in 2017, the site returned a ‘red only’ result, the first time in this area since the survey began. Targeted control work at Argaty and neighbouring estates has ensured that grey squirrel numbers in the area have been kept sufficiently low enough to allow red squirrels to repopulate… […]
…supplementary fed for the next 6 months and monitored to ensure that they settle into the new areas. Red squirrel in trap on Scots pine © Chris Aldridge How do you choose which sites would be suitable for the translocations? Each reintroduction site must ensure that there is plentiful suitable habitat for the translocated red squirrels. This means that… […]
…to have these boxes passed onto your local network or returned to SSRS for future use. We will contact you individually to organise the transfer. If your boxes are on private land, please ensure that the landowner is aware that you are on site to retrieve the boxes. If you have any concerns, please get in touch. Please complete your… […]
…keep a close eye out for, and take photos of, any sick looking red squirrels and email these into us, as well as report all sightings of both species to our website to inform local efforts.” Additionally, local organisations are working on the ground alongside SSRS and the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies to determine the spread of the… […]
