SquirrelWeb

The UK Squirrel Accord aims to secure and expand native red squirrel populations and prevent damage to trees by managing introduced grey squirrels. It is a partnership of 37 forestry and conservation organisations, Government agencies and companies, and has connections to volunteer red squirrel groups. It has launched a new website (UK Squirrel Accord) which will provide up-to-date information on red squirrel conversation and grey squirrel management together with other news.

A new study by Marie Lilly and co-workers from Oberlin College in Ohio USA (see Publications page) have demonstrated how grey squirrels eavesdrop on bird chatter and adjust their levels of vigilance behaviour in line with that of the birds. For example, when birds emit calls while not under the threat of predation, squirrels exhibit low levels if vigilance behaviours. This shows not unsurprisingly, therefore, that squirrels eavesdrop on non-alarm calls as well as alarm calls (The Guardian, Sky News, Mirror, Independent, Phys Org).

A wild melanic (black/dark brown) introduced grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) was first seen in the UK in Woburn, Bedfordshire in 1912. It is now believed there may be as many as 25,000 in East Anglia. Recently published research by Helen McRobie from Anglia Ruskin University UK, and colleagues from USA, Nancy Moncrief and Nicholas Mundy, suggest that a pigment gene for black fur found in  grey squirrels may have originated in North America from interbreeding with the closely related and sympatric Fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) which carries the gene – see Publications for full reference. (Fox squirrels have not been introduced to the UK.) Melanic squirrels are common in North America and black fur may offer a thermal advantage enabling squirrels to inhabit regions with very cold winters (tree squirrels are active all winter and do not hibernate). (BBC News, Peterborough Telegraph, Mail Online, The Telegraph, Evening Express Metro, Scitech Europe). Of note is that melanism also occurs in native red squirrels Sciurus vulgaris, especially in mountainous and high latitude regions in Eurasia.

Outbreaks of squirrelpox virus in red squirrels have recently been reported in Dumfries and Galloway in southern Scotland (Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels, Daily Record), and Northumberland  (The Journal) and Penrith (ITV) in the north of England. Grey squirrels carry the virus without obvious signs, but red squirrels that become infected develop lesions to their faces, limbs and bodies and usually die within two weeks; this can lead to a decline or loss of local populations. If people see sick red squirrels, they should report them to local or regional red squirrel groups (see Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels, Red Squirrels Northern England), and in areas of overlap between red and grey squirrels, it is advisable not to put out food to minimise the possibility of the virus being transmitted from grey squirrels to red squirrels.

Members of the public are invited to take part in an All-Ireland Citizen Science survey of pine martens and red and grey squirrels. The survey, organised by researchers from the Ryan Institute in NUI Galway and the Ulster Wildlife and Vincent Wildlife Trust, aims to record sightings during 2019. There is evidence, notably from the Midlands, that the spread of pine martens has led to a decrease in the numbers of grey squirrels allowing red squirrels to return to their former haunts. The last survey of this kind was carried out in 2012 and it will be interesting to see if the changing pattern of distribution of the three species is continuing.  Further information and guidance on submitting records can be found on the National Biodiversity Data Centre website. It has also been widely reported in the Irish press: Green News, Irish World, Midlands 103, RTE, Ulster Wildlife.

From 29th March 2019, the EU Invasive Alien Species Order 2019 will take effect. As a result, Government Agencies will not issue licences that allow “invasive” species taken into captivity because they were injured or orphaned, such as grey squirrels or muntjac deer, to be looked after or released back into the wild. This will affect rescue centres and vets, and has angered many people who care for or take an interest in wildlife (The Mirror, The Times, Independent – with respect to grey squirrel control, also see The Guardian, The Telegraph.)

Shaun Morris, a farmer from East Yorkshire, England says he will breed animals in Holderness, an area in East Riding, and release them into woodland which he owns (BBC News).

Craig Shuttleworth, one of the country’s leading experts on red and grey squirrels and the driving force behind the return of red squirrels to the Isle of Anglesey off the northwest coast of Wales, is promoting a petition to amend the 1967 Forestry Act. The story is simple: under the Act, felling licenses cannot be refused to protect wildlife or conditions added to a licence to mitigate the effects of felling on wildlife (including red squirrels, common dormice, bats and great-crested newts). To add your signature, go to petition.parliament.uk/petitions/229243. Also see Nation.Cymru.

A camera trap set in Kielder Forest, part of a red squirrel monitoring survey in the area, has captured pictures of a pine marten. This provides evidence that pine martens are returning to northern England and bodes well for the red squirrel (Shropshire Star).

Camera traps have shown that red squirrels are using a squirrel bridge built over the A896 in Wester Ross, Scotland. The bridge was installed by Trees for Life last June; evidence collected so far indicates the number of red squirrels killed on the roads in the area has declined. (The Scotsman, Trees for Life).