Red Squirrel

[SKM]

I have never been fortunate enough to see a Red Squirrel in the wild, so was pleased to see one when we visited the British Wildlife Centre a few weeks ago.

Stan

[djackso]

Beautiful shot. Shame we only seem to seem them in captivity now.

[SKM]

Originally Posted by djackso

Beautiful shot. Shame we only seem to seem them in captivity now.

Yes, they are on Brownsea Island, which is only a couple of miles from where I live but never managed to catch sight of them there

Stan

[demicav]

Gorgeous picture. I saw some at Formby a while ago, beautiful they are.

[GME]

Yep, lovely pic. There was a discussion on the Formby reds not so long back. I believe they are suffering from the pox outbreak and may not be around for much longer Certainly, they are supposed to be much less abundant now

[RobinP]

Plenty still on the Isle of Wight, they take them very seriously and have contingency plans if the Greys ever make it across the Solent.

[mh68]

Nice pic, it`s tragic that for a lot of people, visits to places like the British Wildlife Centre will be the only chance to see these creatures.

Mark H

[Tracey.A]

Originally Posted by RobinP

Plenty still on the Isle of Wight, they take them very seriously and have contingency plans if the Greys ever make it across the Solent.

Scotland had been free of the squirrelpox, that is thought to be carried by the greys, but this virus has now crossed into the south of Scotland and has already claimed victims. The grey squirrels are immune to this pox virus, but the reds have no such immunity and die two weeks later. I'm sure I remember someone telling me that one or two reds have actually survived, but this is extrememly rare. Trying to breed from these squirrels that have survived is really unlikely to work, because they don't breed in captivity as far as I know. Trying to prevent the greys from marching north is extremely difficult. I honestly don't think the reds can survive this. The Isle of Wight is in a fortunate possition, but as they know they still have to be on guard.

Tracey

[seamusagleann]

Red Squirrels are very much alive and well here on the west coast,for some reason the greys have never made it to this part of the country,i'm pleased to say . a few weeks ago ,as part of my job ,i attended a lecture ,followed by a spotting session and saw several of them ,best time is early in the morning or evening . we were also shown signs of squirrel activity,stripped cones and tracks near a known water source. they will tackle any kind of cones , but are particularly fond of norway spruce. there is a place on loch ness side and loch tay where "bridges" have been placed accross roads to help them cross safely.

[mh68]

I heard some rather disturbing news concerning the Scottish Reds Tracey, i`ll pm you, as I wouldnt want this thread to turn into another Grey/Red debate...

Mark H

[demicav]

Originally Posted by GME

Yep, lovely pic. There was a discussion on the Formby reds not so long back. I believe they are suffering from the pox outbreak and may not be around for much longer Certainly, they are supposed to be much less abundant now

This is true and I haven't been able to bring myself to visit since the outbreak, it's such a shame.

[GME]

I know what you mean. I keep thinking I should go before it's too late to see them there at all though

[2dogs2000]

Originally Posted by SKM

Yes, they are on Brownsea Island, which is only a couple of miles from where I live but never managed to catch sight of them there

Stan

I have been to Brownsea Island 3 times looking for Red Squirrels.I was apparently going the wrong time of year (July/August). My third visit was in October and we saw Red Squirrels within 5/10 minutes of arriving. Which time of year are you going?

[big bill]

Up here around Nairn there are quite alot of Reds but trying to get a pic is another question they are so fast and elusive, prefer Reds to greys anyday

[SKM]

My third visit was in October and we saw red squirrels within 5/10 minutes of arriving. Which time of year are you going?

We did in fact visit at the "right" time, early October last year and we only caught a glimpse of one very high up in one of the trees - none anywhere near the ground.

Stan