Building a Volunteer Network

…I was able to initiate things very easily by making the Gatehouse Squirrel Group a project under a pre-existing local charity/company with an environmental slant (Gatehouse Development Initiative). I simply presented the GDI committee with a one-page constitution and that was that. This meant I had a Treasurer and a bank account from day one. ” There are two structures… […]

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One small step for Perthshire’s reds

…like much, but locating and intercepting the very early grey squirrel colonisers is a difficult job – needles and haystacks being an apt analogy – and your reports enable us to narrow our search. Although the risk of grey squirrel presence in the area has been reduced, we of course do not know how many grey squirrels remain in Pitlochry,… […]

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Tayside

…Aberdeenshire, and northwards along the Tay and Tummel, so there is still a lot of work to do to fully protect red squirrels in the region. Red squirrel recovery – Analysis of trapping results has shown both a decline in grey squirrel numbers in many parts of the region (to almost zero in some places) and the beginnings of a… […]

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Celebrating a red squirrel champion

…use of the skills many groups already have. The Chart gives groups full visibility of where expertise lies as well as who is asking for help on what. As the Forum covers such a wide area, even before Covid-19 struck, get-togethers were difficult, as well as being time consuming and expensive. The current restrictions prompted a digital response and Peter… […]

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News: Help stop the spread of grey squirrels in the Mearns

…Scotland for Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels said: “Grey squirrels moving north from Angus into Aberdeenshire are a serious threat to local red squirrels, as well as the core Scottish population in the Highlands. The recent reports from the Mearns are worrying and we need help to stop the spread of grey squirrels in the area. “Grey squirrels threaten red squirrels… […]

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Argaty’s red squirrels are back in full force

…in the early 1990s, and I was riding my bike along the rutted, potholed track that serves as the main road through our family farm. Stopping for a drink of water I looked across the adjacent field when an unexpected movement caught my eye. Standing atop a nearby gatepost was a red squirrel. Tail twitching, eyes unblinking it stared at… […]

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News: New research underway to trace the steps of urban squirrels

…this, it is an offence to release a grey squirrel into the wild without a licence. Work has been underway since 2007 to reduce the threat to red squirrels in the region through a carefully targeted grey squirrel control programme. Today, grey squirrels are rarely seen beyond Aberdeen’s city limits, and the city’s parks and gardens have seen a steady… […]

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News: Public squirrel sightings soar in 2023

…public to spot and record all grey and red squirrels, a total of 1334 people took part, reporting just under 2000 red and grey squirrel sightings across the country, almost 2.5 times as many as were reporting during the 2022 survey. These sightings provide invaluable data for conservationists and scientists working on the ground to protect the endangered native red… […]

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For nature, go native

…started soon after the First World War has provided a vast additional area of habitat. Because grey squirrels don’t readily survive in them, Sitka spruce forests can help red squirrels by providing a refuge when grey squirrel numbers are overwhelming in the wider landscape. However, without the threat from greys, red squirrels are best suited to a mixed habitat of… […]

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This Year's Sightings