The Red Squirrel has a special place in my heart. Having grown up with ‘The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin’, I can never resist an opportunity to see these beauties. Opportunities are sadly lacking in Norfolk, although this wouldn’t have been the case in days gone by, back when our native squirrel roamed over much of the UK. Apart from spurious rumours of a remnant Red Squirrel population haunting Thetford Forest, we have to travel some distance to see our nearest russet rodents.
One of my favourite wildlife photographers - Dani Connor, dedicates much of her time to filming and photographing the Red Squirrels where she lives in Sweden, and I can absolutely see why, these lovely animals are so full of character and charm.
With three squirrels regularly visiting the garden of the holiday cottage I was spoiled rotten, and over the week I tried to spend as much time as I could with them. In fact it was probably the longest time I’ve ever been able to spend with Red Squirrels. Watching their antics, the three chasing wildly around a tree together, one burying nuts in the lawn right in front of me, each leap a flowing sinuous red ribbon floating over the bright grass, was wonderful to witness.
Despite it being June, these squirrels still had their lovely ear tufts, and they are quite distinctive between individuals, as is the rest of their pelage. Two had quite blond tails, and another had delightfully crimped ear tufts. (Perhaps it’s due to the damp weather, I can relate to uncontrollable frizz!)
There was definitely a bit of a pecking order, two were more than happy to share the bird feeder together, one hanging off either side. Whereas the third guarded the squirrel feeder quite fiercely, chasing off all others and perching on top swishing his tail crossly. When the friendly pair did manage to get a chance on the feeder, amusingly one would slink inside and the other would sit on the lid, preventing his friend from getting out, cue much conversation between them. That was a first for me, to hear Red Squirrels chatter in real life. They have quite a sweet voice, a combination of squeaks, chirps and chuckles depending on the mood.
Scotland really was fantastic and I must admit we didn’t want to leave! Hopefully we’ll get back up North to explore more in the future.
Thanks so much for reading, please do leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!
Until next time,
Dawn.
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