Granddad’s Camera
Red squirrel, as it appears in the game

No.067 · Mammals · Uncommon

Red squirrel

Sciurus vulgaris

Britain's native squirrel: ear tufts, a rusty coat and a bushy tail, still holding on in the Highland pinewoods where greys have not arrived.

When to look

All year, mostly at dawn and day.

Time of day

Best time
Morning and late afternoon, all year; most active on dry, mild days. Feeders in the pinewoods make it easy in autumn and winter.
Where in the game
the Cairngorms (pine forest)
Size
Head and body 18–20 cm, tail about 17–18 cm
Weight
Up to about 350 g (typically 280–350 g)
Lifespan
Typically about 3 years in the wild; up to 6 (Mammal Society; Scottish Wildlife Trust)
Population
About 287,000 in Great Britain, most of them in Scotland (Mammal Society, 2018)
Status
Endangered in Great Britain, Near Threatened in Scotland (Mammal Society Red List)

Diet

Tree seeds such as pine and spruce cones and hazelnuts, plus tree flowers and shoots, fungi and sometimes bird eggs

Habitat

Conifer and mixed woodland; in the Cairngorms, mainly Scots pine forest.

Breeding

One or two litters a year of about 2–3 young (kittens), born in a drey from mid-winter through summer and weaned at around 10 weeks

Field signs

  • Pine cones stripped to a ragged 'cob' with a few scales left at the tip
  • Gnawed cone scales in heaps at a favourite feeding stump
  • A football-sized drey of twigs and moss high against a trunk
  • A chattering 'chuck-chuck' alarm call

Did you know?

  • Red squirrels spend about three-quarters of their active time above ground, in trees and shrubs (Mammal Society).
  • Greys carry squirrelpox, which is harmless to them and often fatal to reds; the Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels project works with local communities to protect Scotland's reds.
  • To get through winter, reds cache food in shallow holes in the ground and even store fungi in tree crevices (Mammal Society).

Moments worth waiting for

  • Feasting on pine cones September to February, dawn and day
    A red squirrel sits upright on a branch, turning a pine cone like a corn cob and spitting scales into the snow below.

Photo tip

Stay by the trunks of mature pines and wait at eye level; a feeder near a hide gives sharp, unhurried shots. Use a fast shutter (1/1000 s or faster) for jumps and focus on the eyes.

Be a good naturalist

Never feed anything but proper squirrel food, keep feeders clean to avoid disease, and keep well back from dreys in spring. Report any grey squirrel sighting in the Highlands to the local squirrel project rather than approaching.

The law

Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981: it is an offence to intentionally kill, injure or take a red squirrel, or to damage its drey or disturb it there

Checked against