Red Squirrel Menu
Description. Body size is up to 25 cm long; tail measures up to 20 cm. Smaller than the grey squirrel. Red squirrels have fur which varies from fine russet or chestnut colour in summer to dark brown or even greyish in winter, although there is a great deal of variation in individual coat colours. Bleaching can occur of the ear tufts and tail. They also have a white belly and pointed ear tufts, which are a distinctive feature of red squirrels. In winter, the ear tufts are more prominent. Red squirrels are shy, solitary and secretive creatures, seldom seen but with peaks of activity in the early morning and late afternoon.
Feeding. Red squirrels feed high in the canopy on nuts, kernels from pine cones, fungi, berries and fruit, flowers, buds and even insects.
Favoured coniferous species are Scot’s pine, Japanese Larch, Lodgepole Pine.
Distribution. Once common throughout the UK, red squirrels have disappeared from many areas of England and Wales and are threatened in Scotland and Northern Ireland. They are now largely confined to Scotland, areas of North and Mid Wales, Northern Ireland and parts of England (Northumberland and Cumbria still have good populations), Brownsea Island and the Isle of Wight.
