Thursday 9 September 2010

Squirrels (1): Red Squirrels in Scotland





I was delighted to see Red Squirrels in Scotland back in June. There is a magnificent Fox Squirrel on Naquillity's blog (do take a look here), so I thought it was about time my squirrel photos had an outing, too.

My Squirrel photography is far from brilliant here: you can either blame the midges, the dark shade in the wood or the fact that this was my first experiment with a small tripod and maximum zoom.

We had been told that we might see a Red Squirrel in woodland not far from Kingussie. It was a real thrill when we caught sight of several at once. They were extremely active.

Grey Squirrels were among the first creatures I saw as a young child in Greenwich Park, but Red Squirrels are rare these days. I last saw one or two some years ago on Brownsea Island (where I bought my first binoculars!). Have you seen any recently?

6 comments:

Naquillity said...

Naquillity... that's me! thanks so much for the kind mention. we have lots of gray squirrels too. my fox squirrel pic was a bit grainy because of the full zoom and the distance between us. but, i enjoyed watching him over the weekend.

your red squirrels are beautiful. that bushy tail is delightful. hope all is well and thanks again for the kind mention.

Ryan said...

I'm surprised you managed to spot anything through those darned midges especially on the west coast. The grey squirrels seem to be pushing the red ones out these days.

Mary said...

I think it is wonderful to see so many different squirrels everywhere. I love the red ones that have ear tufts...so very cute. Would love to see one.

Marc Latham said...

Great photos and blog Caroline. The squirrels are delightful. Cheers.

Hadriana's Treasures said...

We have lots of red squirrels around here. I love seeing them and would hate it if they died out. It's controversial but there is positive action to make sure they survive...

Thanks very much for popping over to mine. Sorry it has taken a while for me to get back to yours! :)

Rosie Nixon Fluerty said...

Yes Caroline there are quite a few reds up near Kingussie and on towards Aviemore - I've seen quite a few up there. We have just a few reds here only because some of the neighbours constantly cull the greys. I have a grey that regularly visits or should I say raids in my garden. There are reds over on the Kinoull Hill side of Perth.