You Can Help The Local Red Squirrels With Supplementary Feeding

We are lucky enough to have red squirrels in our area and at this time of year it is very important to supplementary feed them to help them breed successfully.

It is the mating season, and you will see plenty of courtship activity – chasing through the branches and around the trunks of trees and tail flicking. They will also be busy collecting material for their dreys. Red squirrels only breed successfully if they are fit, well fed and healthy.

This is where the local community can help. The Red Squirrel Survival Trust has released some advice. They say that having spent the winter largely relying on the food they stored away in the autumn, spring is the time when supplementary feeding can be an enormous benefit to the local reds. If you don’t already have a feeder these can be bought online or, better still, build our own using the easy to follow instructions provided by Northumberland Wildlife Trust:

https://bit.ly/3MWBUTG

A RSST spokesman explained: “The ideal food is whole walnuts, cobnuts (hazel), sunflower seed and peanuts in their shells. Fresh apple, pear and carrot will be appreciated but not sweet dried fruit as they are hard for red squirrels to digest. Do not just provide peanuts in their shells as this will cause a nutrient deficiency.

“Ideally, the feeder should be six to eight feet off the ground and in a position where you can see and enjoy them and where they don’t have to cross open ground. Don’t forget fresh drinking water – particularly in the summer. It is best to feed regularly every few days as this will also help them maintain their ability to forage for natural food.”

For further information about encouraging red squirrels into your garden or land, visit: www.redsquirrels.info/ education/feeding-redsquirrels