Coronavirus: annual spring survey cancellation

…a sealed container in a cool, dry place until restrictions are lifted. If you are unable to store bait you are welcome to use it in your garden. Please be advised that we recommend cleaning garden feeders regularly for the health of all garden wildlife and to prevent the spread of squirrelpox. Additional equipment (e.g. camera traps): equipment and stickies… […]

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Studying the life of the urban red squirrel

…available resources like supplemental food whilst avoiding or adapting to potential risks such as roads. I hope that the findings will contribute to the long-term conservation of this endangered native species, both in the study site and elsewhere in the UK. Data Collection Fieldwork took place during the summers of 2017 to 2020 in the town of Formby, Merseyside, which… […]

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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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Introducing the new Eastern Lowlands Red Squirrel Group

…squirrel monitoring effort to help improve baseline data and allow for targeted grey squirrel management Provide training for volunteers in grey squirrel management Ensure a reduction in grey squirrel sightings by targeted trapping activity – including a trap loan scheme Increase community awareness and interest in red squirrel conservation across the project area via social media, website, agricultural events/shows and… […]

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News: Get involved in Scotland’s fifth annual Great Scottish Squirrel Survey

…the survey, our third highest year since they began collecting public squirrel sightings in 2010. The highest year to date was in 2020 when 3000 sightings were recorded during the survey, and 22,772 were recorded overall. Programme Manager Nicole Still said: “Public sightings play an essential role in informing and directing our strategic efforts. Whilst we recognise 2020 was an… […]

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Leaping into the future

…We have several vacancies with closing dates in April, apply via the Scottish Wildlife Trust here. Whilst we are delighted to have had over £1.1m pledged to the project so far, we are still urgently in need of a final £49,000 to fulfil our aims. You can help us by donating to the Scottish Wildlife Trust appeal today. DONATE  … […]

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An Introduction to Squirrels in Scotland

…There are now approximately 160,000 native red squirrels in Britain, of which over 75% live in Scotland Since the introduction of grey squirrels, they have become widespread across Britain due to their ability to adapt to new environments. They have also introduced the squirrel pox virus which, although catastrophic to red squirrels, appears to leave grey squirrels relatively unharmed due… […]

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Great Scottish Squirrel Survey 2021: the results

…the opportunity to get to know their local patch of nature. However, clearly many people have caught the squirrel-spotting bug as we have still received more than 13,000 sightings to our website so far this year. Thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in our citizen science campaign, and to all the organisations, community groups and volunteers… […]

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How many red squirrels are there in Scotland?

…know how many red squirrels there are in Scotland? Not really. Counting the actual number of red squirrels is a near impossible task, and like most small animals their numbers will vary naturally from year to year depending on factors like food availability and weather. It’s been estimated that there could be around 120,000 red squirrels left in Scotland, 75%… […]

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Call to report red squirrel sightings in Dumfries & Galloway

…fallen drastically to just 120,000. This is largely due to the spread of the grey squirrel, which was first introduced to Britain from North America in the mid-19th Century. Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels is a partnership project led by the Scottish Wildlife Trust and made possible thanks to National Lottery players and the Dumfries & Galloway LEADER 2014 – 2020… […]

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This Year's Sightings