Red squirrels in the UK (1 Viewer)

I have been following with interest the efforts of Red Squirrels Northern England(rsne.org.uk), which is championing conservation efforts across the north of England to try to encourage the protection of red squirrels while slowing (or reversing) the spread of the non-native grey squirrel.

And, as far as I can tell (from personal experience!), the efforts seem to be having an impact. Since I moved to the north east 15 years ago, I had seen red squirrels twice until last year (once at Plessey Woods and once at Kielder), but in the last 12 months, I have had 6 sightings, mostly around the Wansbeck valley area (from Mitford to the coast at Ashington). There have been some former strongholds which have had their populations decimated by squirrel pox virus (which I understand is carried by - but is not fatal for - grey squirrels), but the reports generated by RSNE suggest many of these are recovering.

Red squirrels are seen almost daily at Woodhorn Colliery museum near Ashington, and I have also seen them myself recently in Mitford, Bothal and at Arcot golf course, while friends of ours say sightings are becoming more common again at Hepscott near Morpeth. Other friends near Penrith also say they have seen their first red squirrels in the area for 3 years.

The RSNE web site is worth a look, and if you see any, make sure you report them on-line!

Wow, I would love to see a red squirrel in our area, but unfortunately they are rarely seen here

There used to be a thread on here where people reported their red squizzle sightings, it'll still be on here if you do a search.

This was from yesterday, Merseyside reds seem to be making a good recovery.

@NTFormby 3h

Plenty of squirrel activity this morning @NTFormby. 18 sightings on Squirrel Walk so far

Click to expand...

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/formby/

I visited Formby last week.
If you visit, try to get there as early as possible because they go back to bed when it gets warm. They also fill the feeders each morning, and apparently are often there waiting!
Tip: Look to your right as you enter because there is a feeder there too.

The Red Squirrels at Formby are, probably, some of the easiest to see in England and Wales and if you're in the area, or live near, you should make an effort to go and see them. The only problem is, they are not 'real' Red Squirrels. Until just over a hundred years ago the dunes at Formby were just that, dunes. The Corsican Pines were planted to try and stabilise the dune system and then, probably, when the trees were large enough, in the 1930's, Red Squirrels from Czechoslovakia / Poland ( no-one seems to be 100% sure where ) were introduced. I know someone who, half jokingly, claims Grey Squirrel are 'more native' than the Formby ones.

Chris

As for the difference - look at tail colour; the British race has a very pale, sometimes nearly white tail, while the Formby squirrels have a dark tail.

Yes- very dark, but very cute too!

Merseyside red squirrel numbers on the rise

Merseyside's red squirrel population is showing signs of recovery from a massive outbreak of disease in 2008.

In Red Squirrel Week, it is reported sightings have spread out into Merseyside and Lancashire.

Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s Red Squirrel Project Officer Rachel Miller said: “The Sefton Coast reds suffered catastrophic losses in 2008 when as few as one in ten survived an outbreak of the squirrel pox virus .

“The good news is that the work of the Lancashire Wildlife Trust’s Red Squirrel Project together with the support of local people is helping numbers of reds to increase. Latest figures are being analysed but estimates show that the your local population has recovered to at least 70 per cent of the numbers before the 2008 pox outbreak.

“With the numbers of reds now showing signs of such a good recovery there has never been a more important time to work together to save our squirrels.”

Welsh Peregrine said:

As for the difference - look at tail colour; the British race has a very pale, sometimes nearly white tail, while the Formby squirrels have a dark tail.

Click to expand...

I think its more variable than you think, and not only that but its my understanding that the blonde tails are due to bleaching over the year, so are purely seasonal and disappear with the autumn moult.

Can anybody explain to me why 20 Red Squirrels have been transported to Tresco where they have never lived before?

John

There is bleaching over the year, but there is also a clear difference throughout the year, on average (with the caveat that they are still the same species, so mutants/freaks/throwbacks etc may well throw spanners into the works).