Morrpeth & District Red Squirrels – Summer 2017

In 2016, the MADRS grey control team removed 720 greys from our patch. 2017 has seen an increase in greys, no doubt greatly contributed to by such a mild winter and to the end of June, we had removed over 900. The damage to trees, predation on bird eggs and fledgelings and obviously the spread of squirrel pox would have been so much greater had it not been for the remarkable efforts of our ‘Grey’ team. We are indebted to each and every one of them, as quite simply, without this control work, we would have lost our Reds by now. It is only through this continued and relentless work that the native Red has any chance of survival. Encouragingly, we have had more red sightings in areas where we have been undertaking control work and I am delighted to say that 2 Reds, in two different areas near Shadfen were seen recently.
Again, we stress that this is not a side of red conservation that is taken lightly. It is absolutely necessary to ensure the survival of the reds.
It would seem that all the various ‘official’ organisations and the plethora of acronyms that go with them are all essentially reinventing the wheel and patting themselves on the back about saving the Red squirrel. It is however a reality, that the majority of ‘saving’ the red squirrel is down to the sheer hard work and ‘boots on the ground’ from local groups. Without this extensive effort, these funded organisations would have nothing to save. It is a pity that the majority of the salaried people sitting behind desks in these organisations seem oblivious to this. Read more>>