Summer is a wonderful time to appreciate Scotland’s charismatic red squirrels! From summer coats, to unusual foods, to well-deserved afternoon siestas. Read on below for our guide to their behaviours during this (sometimes!) sunny season for you to observe and enjoy! Ear Tufts & Summer Coats The fur of red squirrels can vary from almost […]
Spring is an exciting time for our beloved red squirrels! From playful courtships in the trees to adorable new-born kits taking their first steps in the world, these furry creatures are busy as bees during the season of transformation. Want to know more about the behaviour of red squirrels in spring? Here’s a guide to […]
There are over 200 species of squirrel across the globe, and Scotland is home to just two of them, the Eurasian Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) and the Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). Grey squirrels, which are native to North America, were introduced to Britain in 1876, before which it is estimated that there were around […]
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 […]
Dr Jenny Bryce, Scottish Natural Heritage Wildlife Ecologist, discusses how evidence is shaping conservation strategy; reflecting on invasives insights upon the publication of a paper co-written by Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels’ Dr Mel Tonkin. In July 2017 Mel Tonkin, SSRS Project Manager, presented a paper at the IUCN Island Invasives conference held in […]
This week is national Invasive Species Week, 13-17 May, which aims to raise awareness across Great Britain about invasive species and their impacts. Being a project all about invasive species, here at the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative, we’re quite excited about having a whole week of lots of people talking about Invasive Species […]
Bob Peace from the Glenkens Red Squirrel Group shares his inspiration for getting involved in red squirrel conservation and explains how the volunteer group has gone from strength to strength in recent times. As a young boy growing up in West Yorkshire in the 1950s, red squirrels were a common sight and grey […]
By Rebecca Witt Earlier this year, student and wildlife photographer Rebecca Witt spent some time with Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels as part of her mission to capture Britain’s red squirrel conservation movement on camera. Hello! My name is Rebecca and I had the pleasure of working with Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS) […]
1-7 June is Volunteers’ Week, a chance to say thank you to the hundreds of volunteers who make saving Scotland’s red squirrels possible.
We asked two of our spring survey volunteers to tell us more about their experience, including the highlights (and challenges!) of monitoring squirrel populations in Scotland. […]
By Dr Sarah Garven It’s about this time of year that many red squirrels set to work on producing a second litter of kits. Guest blogger Dr Sarah Garven gives us an insight into the life of a red squirrel during the busy breeding season. Spring has made its late but very […]
