Scotland – creating woodland habitats & supporting our wildlife
In Scotland we are lucky to provide habitats for some of the UK’s rarest of wildlife including Ospreys, Water Voles and 75% of all British Red Squirrels. We also have some of the oldest indigenous tree species like the Sessile Oaks.
You can learn more about Scotland’s Sessile Oaks, our rare wildlife and what is being done to protect and preserve by visiting the following useful websites:
Scottish Wildlife
Wildlife Trust for Scotland
Scotland’s local bio diversity action plans
Red Squirrels need protection
Without doubt one of Scotland’s most recognisable and popular mammals. Once common in woodlands throughout Britain, a glimpse of the red squirrel is now rare. The Red survives best in spruce dominated coniferous woodlands so it is to be expected that there are larger numbers in Scotland than anywhere else – (they say 75% of the British population lives here!)
The Grey squirrel is largely to blame for the demise of his Red cousin. The Grey eats more, adapts better to broadleaf woodlands and carries the Squirrel Pox Virus. This is deadly to the Red who becomes very lethargic, develop lesions and die within 2 weeks of contracting the disease.
You can see Red Squirrels on some of Scotland’s Nature Reserves like Falls of Clyde (Lanarkshire) and Loch of the Lowes (Perthshire) as well as in the forests of Dumfries and Galloway, the Central Highlands.
Report a sighting of a Red Squirrel or find out how they are being protected in south Scotland by visiting www.red-squirrels.org.uk (Red Squirrels in South Scotland).
How do I recognise a Red squirrel?
Well, you shouldn’t use colour as a guide – instead look for ear tufts – you only see them on Red Squirrels. And look at the tail too, Grey Squirrels have white tips that create a white ‘halo’ around the edge of the tail – Red Squirrels don’t have this. Red Squirrels are also smaller, slender and shy – whereas the Grey squirrel is very bold.
What do Red squirrels eat?
Woodlands offer great protection and an abundance of food. The most important part of their diet are tree seeds like pine seeds, beech nuts, acorns and hazel nuts. They also eat fungi, flowers, berries and shoots which are all available at different times of the year.
Interesting links for Red Squirrels:
Ayrshire red squirrel group
Highland Red Squirrel Group
Red Squirrels in South Scotland project
The Scottish Wildlife Trust
Scottish Squirrel Survey
Dundee Red Squirrels
Useful documents and pictures:
UK bio diversity action plan for the Red Squirrel (pdf 157.2KB)
Scottish squirrel distribution map (pdf 114.5KB)
Red Squirrel Facts in Scotland (pdf 114.5KB)
Scottish Strategy for squirrel conservation (pdf 1.4MB)
Did you know that we have Red Squirrels on many of our Natures Nest Egg Farms?
The Water Vole facing extinction
Did you know that they are nearly as rare as hen’s teeth?
Lovingly named "Ratty" from Wind in the Willows, the Water Vole was once common place on the banks of our burns, their demise has been catastrophic in recent years and they are now the fastest declining mammal in the UK.
National surveys show they have been lost from more than 89% of sites they inhabited sixty years ago. Predictions for the water voles future are bleak, based on the current population declines it is possible that the water vole may become extinct in the UK by 2016.
Scottish versus English water voles
Recent genetic UK studies of water voles have demonstrated that Scottish water voles have a completely different ancestry to their English cousins. At the end of the last Ice Age, water voles from ice-free refugia in southern Europe recolonised in Britain. Those that settled in England and Wales originated from south east Europe, whereas Scotland’s voles are descended from migrants from northern Iberia.
It is thought that the colonisation of Britain occurred in two waves initially from Iberia and latterly from the Balkans. The second wave of colonisers presumably displaced the existing occupants of England and Wales, but failed to displace their more northerly counterparts.
Interestingly, the separation between these two groups appears to correspond closely with the current border with England!
Where will I see Water Voles?
Visit one of the Scottish Wildlife Trust Visitor centres at Falls of Clyde (Lanarkshire), Loch of the Lowes (Perthshire) and Montrose Basin (Angus).
On a positive note what is being done to help them?
Like the Red Squirrel, the Water Vole is one of the top UK species identified for a UK wide bio diversity action plan. The Scottish Wildlife Trust has selected this species as a conservation priority and has developed an action programme of survey, habitat improvement, and mink control and monitoring to help save this beautiful animal which is part of the freshwater habitat in Scotland.
Interesting links for Water Voles:
Find your local action plan for Water Voles
Useful documents:
Ospreys – a conservation success story in Scotland
Ospreys are spectacular fish-eating birds of prey with a wingspan of nearly five feet. Their white head and undersides, contrast with the rich brown upperparts. Driven to distinction in the UK the last recorded breeding pair in England was in1840.
The return of Ospreys as breeding birds in Britain is one of the most famous conservation success stories in the UK. There are now around 130 pairs in Scotland, having increased from a single pair which bred at Loch Garten in 1954.
A 2004 study recorded 182 breeding pairs of osprey in Scotland - the vast majority of the entire UK population. Scottish ringed birds are generally found to winter in Gambia and Senegal in West Africa. In Scotland, the osprey’s diet consists almost solely of trout and pike. Unique amongst birds of prey, the osprey is adapted for living exclusively on fish.
Things you might like to know about Ospreys:
Ospreys usually lay three eggs, which take about six weeks to hatch. The young stay in the nest for six or seven weeks. In late summer, the adult female will migrate south, leaving the male to teach the youngsters the art of fishing. They then fly south to Africa.
Young Ospreys don’t usually return to Britain the year after they hatch: they stay in Africa for two or three years but when they do come back, they often return to the area where they hatched.
Useful links
Where to see Ospreys in Scotland
See Red Squirrels and Ospreys at Red Squirrel Car Park
Useful Osprey info from the RSPB