…how widespread grey squirrels had become. For the previous 25 years, my wife and I had been living on the edge of a Scots pine forest near Hexham in Northumberland, where for a long period we had plenty of reds visiting our garden. We even organised aerial ropeways to feeders on our window frames, giving us even closer views! Then… […]
…baseline data across the project areas on squirrel presence/absence, grey squirrel management activity and volunteer demographics to establish the current range of volunteers as well as identify opportunities to encourage new volunteers. There will be a public awareness programme to inform the public on the relationship between squirrels and pine martens – a natural predator of squirrels, and the impact… […]
…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… […]
…specific volunteer openings can be found on the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Volunteering Opportunities page. Do keep in touch with your local Conservation Officer or Community Engagement Officer if you have any questions or concerns. What should I do with my 2020 Spring Survey kit? Please read over the guidance and instructions below for your survey area: North East If… […]
…our website! (www.scottishsquirrels.org.uk/squirrel-sightings) If you’re lucky enough to see a red or grey squirrel, dead or alive, we want to know about it!! At Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels there are only a small number of staff covering very large areas and so we can’t be everywhere all the time. We need your help to know where the squirrels are so… […]
…us! A heavily pregnant red squirrel visits a garden feeder in early summer. Photo: Hilary Gaunt It is also very important for us to know about grey squirrels, so that we can keep an eye on their distribution. Sightings of greys are often followed up by staff or volunteers from SSRS, and very often these reports can help us direct… […]
Original Author: Paul McDonald Paul McDonald, Project Officer for Argyll & the Trossachs, is very sad to be leaving the project this week. Please continue to report your sightings on this website! Sadly, this is my last week working as Project Officer for Saving Scotland’s Red squirrels. I’ve had a very interesting year of work, with some great… […]
…wee red pals. I am a keen cyclist (I even cycled 300 miles along the banks of the Nile once) but haven’t had the opportunity to get out much this year. So, it’s training time and a chance to get out and about on the hills of Fife, where I live. It’s tough going to get started again but nice… […]
…red squirrels.Scotland is home to just 120,000 red squirrels, three quarters of the UK population. The main threat to native squirrels comes from competition with invasive non-native grey squirrels and the spread of the deadly squirrelpox virus. Dr Mel Tonkin, Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels Project Manager said: “Our work since 2009 shows that through targeted control of grey squirrels… […]
…enable volunteers to detect squirrels, red and grey, much more efficiently, enabling volunteers to identify areas that may be under threat from the non-native grey squirrel. View of squirrel through thermal imager © Scott Country International The new equipment is novel to most people and fun to use, so it will also deliver benefits to community engagement activities such as… […]
