The UK is one of many countries to have the Red Squirrel as a member of its native fauna. It also exists in the rest of Europe and Asia with some exceptions. However out of all of these countries the UK is the only one having problems with keeping the Red Squirrel population. This is mainly due to the release of the Grey Squirrel from the America’s. the Grey Squirells are stronger and able to eat seeds before they are ripe. They are also thought to steel winter stores from Red Squirrels. This all leads to the Red Squirrel having a lack of food to survive. As the Grey Squirrel moves further up Britain the Red Squirrel population falls. It is believed that in broadleaved of mixed woodlands, Red Squirrel’s are unlikely to be able to survive more than 15 years with the appearance of Grey Squirrels. However it is not too late to help save the Red Squirrel. Red Squirrel’s seem to be able to survive in areas of spruce dominated coniferous woodland and hence maintaining these areas will help maintain the Red Squirrel’s future. A number of projects are under away now in the UK to use this method amongst others to help the Red Squirrel. One of these groups is Red Alert in Cumbria (please see my links page for their website).

The Red Squirrel weighs approximately 230-450g and its colour of its coat varies dramatically from foxy red (mainly in UK) through to black. The have bushy tails and tufts of hair on their ears. They are well adapted to the woodland environment because their light weight enables them to balance on thin branches as well as their powerful hind legs and sharp claws which enable them to climb trees and hold on to the bark with ease. When they are alarmed or hear something they tend to make a ‘chuck-chuck ‘ noise and remain motionless for up to 10 minutes until they feel safe. Red Squirrel’s tend to be almost entirely tree living apart from when foraging for food and are surprisingly solitary creatures, living in a nest which is normally located in the fork of a tree and is called a drey. During the mating season the male chases the female around, which is an astounding sight to see, especially when they rush up the trees after each other. The only predator which can catch the red squirrel is the pine martin on the ground and birds of prey, although domestic cats have been known to catch them too.

Red Squirrel’s tend to be vegetarian although they do occassionaly plunder birds’ nest’s. they predominantly eat seeds, nuts, berries and fungi. The autumn and winter seed harvest is very important both for breeding in the spring and survival through the winter. An important note is that if you do feed red squirrels in your garden you should keep your feeders as clean as possible to prevent any transmission of disease especially the fatal parapox virus.

A QUICK PHOTOGRAPHY NOTE:

The best way to locate red squirrels is to look for stripped cones under conifer trees especially the Scots pine. Once these signs have been found the best chance to see them is in the early morning and late afternoon. By regularly feeding the squirrels they will continue to visit the site and this will enable the best viewing and shots to be found. Try to get the squirrel on a branch or in a tree for the best photographs by placing hazelnuts in these areas. The red squirrel is found primarily in Scotland and the North West of Britain such as Cumbria and Northumberland.