Author: Steph McIvor

Many people in the mid Wales, and within the Red Squirrel Focal Site in particular, have reported that they have not seen many, or even any, grey squirrels this year.  A phenomenon which I think, at least partially, can be attributed to our trapping efforts, nearly 1,170 taken out in the last 12 months by Trap Loan Scheme members. Although grey squirrel numbers still appear to be high in other regions of  Britain, theories  have been put forward which may also partially account for the apparent drop in the local grey squirrel population, such as persistent wet weather over the winter months causing cached food supplies to decay. Grey squirrels depend much more on stored food than reds, so, if their food stores are rotten this could be one factor affecting their decline. As far as the red squirrel goes, this is all to the good, of course! Unfortunately, when numbers are low, it takes much more time to catch any grey squirrels do turn up.   Read more>>

Our four years of Heritage Lottery Funding for community engagement work has now concluded. Chris Westerback and Katy Cook’s RSNE community development roles finished in March, although they will both continue to have partial involvement in RSNE. As such, The Red Report will now become a bi annual newsletter, with editions in summer and winter.  Read more>>

We’re privileged to bring you an article about which tree species help red squirrels, written for us by three eminent red squirrel scientists: Dr Peter Lurz, Dr Craig Shuttleworth and Professor John Gurnell.  In Westmorland’s area we are experiencing tree disease and its consequent felling and re-planting, and it’s important that our red squirrels are taken into account in woodland planning, alongside all the other woodland species that vie for attention.

A glut of natural food caused last year’s grey population explosion, but there’s been a complete reversal of food supply over this last autumn/winter, which has had an impact on grey numbers. Only time will tell exactly what we’ll face this year, but there have been good years for greys in the past and we’re not known for giving up at the first hurdle. The problem with the Forestry Commission not allowing suitably trained volunteers to shoot on their land continues to be a thorn in our side.  Read more>>

Grey squirrels  don’t  only  present a problem for red squirrels, they are also responsible for damage to property.  According to a study published in 2011 by the international scientific organisation CABI for DEFRA, Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly, grey squirrels cost the British economy an estimated £14 million per annum; damage to power cables alone is estimated to cost millions of pounds in the UK.  An article in the Guardian identifies hundreds of power outages which  can be directly attributed to squirrels.

Read on to get some top trapping tips from Matthew Hand, hear about an exciting new – UK wide – red squirrel conservation project, get the latest on the new pine marten arrivals, find out about invasive species control in Mauritius, and get the low-down on all of the latest developments in red squirrel conservation here in mid Wales. More>>

A wildlife organisation has criticised the Forestry Commission over its policy of dealing with grey squirrels and claimed the animals should be culled with airguns.

The European Squirrel Initiative (ESI) said the grey squirrel is an invasive, non-native species which is dominating the UK woodland. Read more>>

You may remember we mentioned in our previous Winter/Spring 2015 newsletter that it has been a bountiful year for nature in general, with natural food being produced in abundance at the end of 2014. This year’s crop doesn’t seem to have been as productive however with conditions having been good for squirrels in general, there certainly has been a lot of activity on both the red and grey squirrel front!The red population in some areas appears stable, with populations in others seeming to fluctuate (which is natural) and in one or two cases reds have made an appearance where they haven’t been seen for some time – encouraging indeed. Read more>>

Welcome to the last edition of the Newsletter for 2015. I’m not sure where the time goes but this year seems to have flown by!

We have been extremely busy and with more people coming on board to help with grey control, MADRS has removed over 900 grey squirrels from our area up to the end of September. This has encouragingly resulted in Reds returning to cleared areas and Reds being reported in areas where we have not had sightings before. It is a constant and ongoing challenge, but with our collective efforts, there is a brighter future for our native Red Squirrels in this area! Read more>>