Musings from the Merse
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Red Squirrels in the Sunset*
People spend hours seated in the hide at Paxton House looking for the Red Squirrel. They have been seen, once by me but are increasingly elusive. A mere 100 miles to the north it is a different story and the sister in law's garden in Killin is a Red Squirrel haven and it seems to be the birds that are endangered as the squirrels nick the nuts. The Sciurus vulgaris to give it its proper name is down to the last 140,000 in the UK which does not sound too endangered but they are apparently been driven relentlessly out of southern England by that brash North American cousin: the Grey.
All you need to know about Red Squirrels can be found in the National Trust puff here Scotland does not get a mention although Norn Iron does. But you don't need to fork out a small fortune to join the NT-viewing is free in Killin. And not just in the Sister-in-Law's garden
The images are from the Killin garden. I am sure you can find better ones on Flickr
* It was actually about 9-30 am but Red Squirrels shortly after breakfast' is a rubbish title
People spend hours seated in the hide at Paxton House looking for the Red Squirrel. They have been seen, once by me but are increasingly elusive. A mere 100 miles to the north it is a different story and the sister in law's garden in Killin is a Red Squirrel haven and it seems to be the birds that are endangered as the squirrels nick the nuts. The Sciurus vulgaris to give it its proper name is down to the last 140,000 in the UK which does not sound too endangered but they are apparently been driven relentlessly out of southern England by that brash North American cousin: the Grey.
All you need to know about Red Squirrels can be found in the National Trust puff here Scotland does not get a mention although Norn Iron does. But you don't need to fork out a small fortune to join the NT-viewing is free in Killin. And not just in the Sister-in-Law's garden
The images are from the Killin garden. I am sure you can find better ones on Flickr
* It was actually about 9-30 am but Red Squirrels shortly after breakfast' is a rubbish title
Labels: Killin, Paxton House, Red Squirrels
Comments:
We used to have them up here in the Lammermuir Hills but they have been seen much less and greys have now been spotted.
Back in the late 60's I can remember seeing them in the gardens in the New Town in Edinburgh occasionally they would be on the pavements.
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Back in the late 60's I can remember seeing them in the gardens in the New Town in Edinburgh occasionally they would be on the pavements.
# posted by 
: 1:38 PM
: 1:38 PM
