…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… […]
…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… […]
…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… […]
…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,… […]
…dead red squirrel carcasses found to the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies for post-mortem analysis.” People can report their sightings of both red and grey squirrels at scottishsquirrels.org.uk. Details for how to post carcasses to the Vet School and how to effectively clean feeders can also be found on the site. Although Squirrelpox is not considered harmful to humans,… […]
…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… […]
…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… […]
…the squirrel as prey, or perhaps there were mice or voles in amongst the bait and out of site of the camera. Fascinating stuff either way, and presumably a pretty rare encounter! Tawny owls are well monitored in the UK and I suspect if red squirrels popped up in their diet it would be reported, simply out of interest. There… […]
…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… […]
…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… […]
