…our survey sites are beautiful areas of woodland that are very rarely visited; unspoilt and full of things to see. I’ve walked through clouds of butterflies on a site near Dumfries, I’ve had close encounters with deer and of course I’ve seen red squirrels (and grey ones too!) You can do your survey visits at any time, so you can… […]
…to see this- watch it right to the end! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZXZfnzXA4E This footage was caught just after 6am in early May. It clearly shows a tawny owl swoop in and land on the tree just above where the squirrel was. Amazing! Now what we don’t know is what the tawny owl was up to. It may well have been sizing up… […]
…Officer for Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels said: “In conjunction with Forestry Commission Scotland, who manage Heathhall, we have deployed emergency Squirrelpox outbreak response measures. All feeder boxes found on site have been removed and trapping has commenced to isolate any sick red squirrels and remove any grey squirrels. Captured sick red squirrels will be taken to a local veterinary clinic… […]
…various areas over the years, targeted grey squirrel control work has ensured that the local red squirrel populations have successfully recovered. Research published by Professor Andy White and colleagues has shown that when grey squirrel numbers are kept low, red squirrels are given enough time to repopulate an area after suffering a major decline. Nicole Still, Programme Manager for Saving… […]
…and in the south since 2013. In recent years results have indicated that red squirrel populations have stabilised, following several decades of decline. In the south of Scotland (Dumfries & Galloway, the Scottish Borders and parts of Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire), the number of survey sites reporting red squirrels remained between 51-52%, but encouragingly, the number of sites with grey… […]
…part of the centre and will have very little human interaction whilst he learns the skills he will need for the future. Finally, he will be taken to a release site where the squirrels are fed and from that point he will be free. Rusty weighing in at an impressive 226g. A fantastic turn-around in fortunes- he has nearly tripled… […]
…what you up to today? Sandy: I’m here in sunny Moray to help you guys at Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels raise awareness about the project and meet as many folk as I can! We red squirrels appreciate your efforts. Steve: Thanks for the help Sandy, you’re always popular. Moray’s a great place for red squirrels- loads of conifer woodland and,… […]
…the wood into feeder boxes in only 2 days! The squirrel survey is carried out each spring during March and April. It’s a huge undertaking, only possible with the efforts of volunteers. There are 115 survey sites across south Scotland, and each survey site needs four feeder boxes. Feeder boxes are cleaned and re-used most of the time, but we… […]
…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… […]
…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… […]
