Introducing the newest faces of our scurry

…an Administrative Assistant, and from June started her new role as Assistant Conservation Officer. When she is not busy saving red squirrels, Victoria works as a Freelance Ecologist, undertaking bat surveys, badger, amphibian, butterfly and botanical surveys. Victoria will be joining the South West team from Dalbeattie in Dumfries and Galloway once restrictions ease. Contact: vchanin@scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk   Dr Emma Sheehy:… […]

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Argaty’s red squirrels are back in full force

…in force on Argaty. Today we run two squirrel photography hides and are in the process of building a third. I seldom go twenty-four hours without seeing a squirrel here and when I do, something feels missing from the day. Last year one particularly brazen animal scaled the side of our house and began building a drey between the downpipe… […]

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An Introduction to Squirrels in Scotland

…to their developed immunity. Grey squirrels are also able to outcompete red squirrels for resources such as food and habitat, in part due to their larger size, making it harder for red squirrels to breed and survive. As well as the impact of grey squirrels, habitat loss has played a significant role in the decline of red squirrels. Squirrels rely… […]

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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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Grey squirrel control: connecting the dots

…the spread of grey squirrels. Classified as an invasive non-native species, it is widely acknowledged that targeted, landscape-scale grey squirrel population control is essential if we want to reverse the decline of Scotland’s red squirrels. It’s a huge undertaking, but fortunately there are many passionate and experienced landowners and individuals volunteering to do their bit across priority areas. At Saving… […]

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SNOW DAY!

Original Author: Paul McDonald, Project Officer for Argyll, the Trossachs and Stirling Paul McDonald, Project Officer for Argyll, the Trossachs and Stirling, has fun in the snow.   One of the advantages of my position being three days per week is that I can take advantage of the weather. Today (Tuesday March 3rd), I woke up to discover that several… […]

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News: Red letter day – Plean’s first red squirrel entered home through letterbox

…absence, we’ve also had recent sightings in Dunblane and Doune. Stirlingshire is an important area for red squirrel conservation because it is on the boundary between Scotland’s core red squirrel populations in the Highlands and the populations of grey squirrels that are found across the Central Belt. Grey squirrels are a non-native invasive species that was introduced to Britain from… […]

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Cally Gardens Wildlife Hide is now open!

  Since way back in 2019 there has been a plan to build a hide from which we could watch and photograph woodland wildlife near Gatehouse. Finally, this mission has been accomplished with a launch event held in Cally Woods on Wednesday 10 November. This project has been led by the Gatehouse Squirrel Group, and its members’ generous donations covered… […]

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This Year's Sightings