A British Red!

[Bushwhacker]

Never before have I seen a Red Squirrel in the wild (I haven't exactly been anywhere to get the chance).
This weekend it all changed and I managed to blag a visit to the last bastion of Reds in Dorset.
I do wish I had a decent camera sometimes, but I managed to get this shot on my phone from a distance of about 3 metres.

 

[Paul_B]

If you are ever lucky enough to see one up closer than that you will see they are muscley little critters. I had the pleasure of being "told off" by one who was on a tree about a metre from me. It had muscles on muscles with veins popping out. Seriously I think they are on steroids up in Derwent/Grange area!!! North lakes is a bit of a battleground for them at the moment as it is kind of where northern and southern greys are pushing in. There are some protected zones with culling in a ring around them near there too.

Formby area is a good place. The woods are full of them.

They're amazing little critters I think, much better looking than the tree rats that are the greys.

 

[Toddy]

Nice one

The greys are boisterous, happy to be around people, and familiar, but the reds are somehow rather special and 'wild'.

cheers,
M

 

[treadlightly]

That is a rare sight. Thanks for posting.

 

[Albus Culter]

Cute little fellow.
Head up to centre parks in Cumbria. They are a lot more used to people if you want a close sighting

 

[British Red]

Cousin Tony!

Brilliant creatures and a damned good picture

 

[mr walloping]

Great stuff,shame the grey squirrels are not kept in check enough to stop them spreading.

 

[Toadflax]

How times change...

Heres my little brother and I hand feeding one at Lower Manesty camp site (at the bottom end of Derwentwater), must have been around 1968/1969.

Geoff

 

[Niels]

I recall going to the UK last year, to a big park in York. I spotted at least five grey ones in this park but no red ones. There's only red ones here I've never seen a grey one in the Netherlands.

 

[Paul_B]

Formby reds were always common and tame as any wild animal can get. They sold nuts to hand feed them. Paid for conservation work I guess. Anyway I saw reds eating from hands. They'd scamper up, nick nuts and scarper.

Lots of places in north lakes with lots of squirrels but Derwent and haweswater areas seem to do OK. Also area along the river Greta into Keswick is a kind of front line I think. Was notices up asking ppl to report greys when I used to paddle the river a gd few years ago now. Seems greys were just moving into the area and the b local red squirrel group were kind of hitting the panic button.

 

[British Red]

How times change...

Heres my little brother and I hand feeding one at Lower Manesty camp site (at the bottom end of Derwentwater), must have been around 1968/1969.






Geoff

Okay thats plain freaky!

My brother and I were there at the same time, same campsite IIRC...probably fed the self same squirrels - its where I started to love them

We used to eye up the islands (my mum had read us "Swallows and Amazons"). We did eventually get to sail on it in a dinghy too

 

[Toadflax]

Okay thats plain freaky!

My brother and I were there at the same time, same campsite IIRC...probably fed the self same squirrels - its where I started to love them

We used to eye up the islands (my mum had read us "Swallows and Amazons"). We did eventually get to sail on it in a dinghy too

And even more freaky!

We went back a few years later, to camp near Coniston, and the two of us sailed the Mirror dinghy that my Dad had built all the way down, and we landed on Wild Cat Island.


Geoff

 

[British Red]

If you tell me you had those rather cool canvas back packs and walked up Skiddaw with your folks we had the same holiday

 

[Toadflax]

If you tell me you had those rather cool canvas back packs and walked up Skiddaw with your folks we had the same holiday

And there the freakiness ends, I'm sorry to say. We never went up Skiddaw.


Geoff

 

[British Red]

<chuckles>

Geoff - my Aging Parent (mum) says to tell you its "Low Manesty" (I just checked with her to ensure my memory wasn't playing tricks - it wasn't - we were there at the same time)

She's right too

[video=youtube;7OcZkqK4UoQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OcZkqK4UoQ[/video]

The site is much bigger now apparently

Sorry for the hijack Bushwacker