Some inquisitive red squirrels have been caught on film- within 12 hours of new cameras being installed in Hazlehead Park in Aberdeen!

The cameras are owned by the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS) project and have been put in place thanks to support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery. The cameras will be used by the project to monitor the red squirrel population in Aberdeen city and shire, where this major conservation project has been working for the past few years to restore red squirrels to their former haunts.

Footage from the cameras will also help to assess the performance of three different designs of feeder boxes used by the project for monitoring.

Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels is a project to stop the decline of Scotland’s core red squirrel populations and to improve conditions for viable red squirrel populations across Scotland.  It is a partnership project between the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Scottish Natural Heritage, Forestry Commission Scotland, Scottish Land and Estates and Red Squirrel Survival Trust. 

The latest funding for these cameras is part of a long term relationship between the Scottish Wildlife Trust and People’s Postcode Lottery. Players of the charity lottery have raised over £2.4 million for the Scottish Wildlife Trust to date.  This support has helped the charity to protect wildlife, enhance their network of reserves and employ nature Rangers, as well as assist Wildlife Watch groups for children across Scotland.

Steve Willis from Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels said:

“We've had some brilliant footage on these new cameras; we had our first squirrel visitor less than 12 hours after the cameras went up. I hope that this camera footage will help with monitoring and survey work in the future.

“The camera footage will also help us improve our feeder box design. The feeder boxes are used each spring as part of the project’s monitoring to establish whether red, grey or both species of squirrels are present in the wood.”