RED squirrels have been in the national news again, although I am tempted to ask when they are they not in the news, such is the interest in this iconic mammal.
I am particularly interested in any information because, as readers may recall, I have a problem with them. Perhaps it is not so much of "with them" as "without them".
As far as I can tell almost every other garden in this strath has red squirrels coming to feeders. This has come about because, in the last few years so many people are, fortunately, putting food out for wild birds all year. The squirrels have come in to all the gardens except ours. We have an acre of ground and as far as we know no red squirrel has ever visited it despite the mature trees. We have a feeder specially designed to hold peanuts for them plus a wide variety of other food.
The answer seemed to be to invite in one of the Highlands' experts on red squirrels. She is Juliet Robinson who works for the Forestry Commission and is based in Dingwall as their red squirrel conservation officer".
Juliet was helpful even before she came last week as she sent me a copy of the Highland Red Squirrel Group's minutes of their AGM that took place in Dingwall on November 2. She included the latest report from the Dundonnell red squirrel re-introduction report and the latest leaflet on red squirrels. This was despite the fact that my membership of the groups had lapsed in the last year.
When Juliet arrived, having just visited Farr Primary School to talk to the pupils about red squirrels, I had a long list of queries. It was mainly about the absence of red squirrels in the garden and about the two new squirrel feeders I had recently obtained and nesting boxes for them.
The new feeders are of what is now the standard design and is widely used. The red squirrels gain access to the peanuts in the feeder by a flap on the roof, which they seem to readily adapt to once they have got used to it.
The photograph, needless to say not taken by me, shows such a feeder and a red squirrel having just taken some peanuts from the feeder. Note the very dark, almost black, tail as this can vary in colour and some seem almost light grey.
Juliet said the squirrel feeders I had would not need any preservative and as far as the height was concerned it did not matter, so put I should put them at a height to suit me for filling them, if they were ever emptied!
We discussed the nest boxes' design and their siting. Then, as far as I was concerned, it was crunch time as we had a look at the garden and paddock and discussed why we get no red squirrels.
I suggested that the small area we have was not in the red squirrels' territory, or even on the edge. This was why our neighbours a quarter of a mile away have them and not us.
Juliet dashed my theories as she simply said the area is not suitable for them as far as habitat was concerned. There were no hazel bushes, no oak trees and only two or three conifers. The food was simply not there.
So much for all my theories but I will still put the feeders up, in case!
If you are even remotely interested in red squirrels or the countryside, then join the Highland Red Squirrel group. The annual membership is only £5, so why not send a cheque made out to Highland Red Squirrel Group and send it to Juliet Robinson, Forestry Commission Scotland, Highland Conservancy, Woodlands, Fodderty Way, Dingwall IV15 9XB.
* The highlight of the week was the woodcock coming into the woodlands across the Highlands. One day there seemed to be virtually no woodcock to be seen and then the next day they seemed everywhere.
There were four birds in a long strip of mixed woodland I look at, including a long line of blackthorn, a mixture of rowan, alder and silver birch. The birds must have felt at home in the very wet conditions by a burn.
In another area in woodland mainly dominated by silver birch, there were at least three birds. The reason for their sudden appearance is one of the mysteries surrounding this enigmatic bird. The night they appeared it was a full moon and it is reckoned these are the conditions which prompt these birds to invade our shores, mainly from Sweden and Norway but some from further afield such as Russia and Finland.
The few woodcock we see before such migrants are the resident birds that breed with us, although a few of these move south or west for the winter.
Just before the woodcock arrive, the immigrant goldcrests come in, hence why these goldcrests are sometimes called woodcock pilots, because they are reputed to show the woodcock the way.
Woodcock are unusual in that they are waders that spend most of their time in woodland where they feed. They also breed in woodland, nesting on the ground, and their camouflage is impressive.
The beak is one of the longest of all the waders and it has a flexible tip so that it can laterally search around under the woodland floor.
