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GO NUTS FOR THE NATIVE NUTKIN - RED SQUIRREL WEEK
Go to Red
Squirrel facts >>>
Report your sightings here cedar.info@magni.org.uk
They鈥檙e agile, cute and furry, and we鈥檙e
nuts about them! With their distinctive russet fur,
tufted ears and twitching tail, a red squirrel is
always a captivating sight. Yet these flashes of
red are becoming more infrequent.
That鈥檚 why the Ulster Wildlife Trust is encouraging
everyone to help protect them - by getting out and about,
and reporting sightings during Red Squirrel Week (4 - 12
October 2008). A series of family events and activities
are being held across the province to promote awareness
of this much-loved native species and to encourage everyone
to look for signs or sights in woodlands, along roadsides
and in gardens too.
The Ulster Wildlife Trust hopes the
events to celebrate Red Squirrel Week will help people
understand more about the red鈥檚 habitat and behaviour,
why they鈥檙e
in danger from factors such as competition from greys,
disease, and loss of woodland, and get involved in efforts
to protect them.
Maeve Rafferty, Biodiversity Manager with
the Ulster Wildlife Trust said: 鈥淒uring Red Squirrel
Week, we want people to get out there, have some fun and
get acquainted with one of our best loved mammals.听 These
are challenging times for our native squirrel and conservation
efforts will rely on public support, co-operation between
landowners and volunteer time.听
鈥淥ne of the simplest ways to help our native
nutkin is to report your sightings of both red and grey
squirrels to the Centre for Environmental Data
and Recording by visiting and
you can find out how and what to look out for, or get along
to one of our red squirrel events.鈥
For further information, contact the Ulster Wildlife Trust on tel: 028 4483 0282,
email: events@ulsterwildlifetrust.org or
visit .
RED SQUIRREL
FACTS
The plight of the Red Squirrel is now recognised
in local, regional, national and international conservation
policies 鈥 it is featured in the Bern Convention,
it is a priority species in the UK and NI Biodiversity
Action Plan (BAP) and the Red Squirrel is afforded
the highest level of protection under UK law, the Wildlife
and Countryside Act.听听
Red squirrels are not always red.听 They can
be brown, almost black, or even quite grey, and can
become blonde due to bleaching by the summer sunlight.听 In
winter, they have noticeable ear tufts.听
Red squirrels
are able to live in any type of woodland but in the
UK they are now mostly confined to conifer forests
where they have a competitive advantage over the larger
greys.听
They do not hibernate. They bury nuts to
help provide food in the winter to supplement the year
round supply of conifer seeds in mixed broadleaf and
coniferous woodland. 听
Red squirrels build nests,
called dreys, from sticks and moss placed high in the
branches, where they produce two litters of three to
four kittens a year. The drey is often the first evidence
of the presence of red squirrels in a wood.
Red
squirrels can live for up to six years.
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