The summer season was a busy one on Caldey Island, especially where the red squirrels were concerned.

Over 300 trees have been planted which will provide food for the squirrels in years to come, once supplementary feeding has been phased out.

At present, the squirrels are fed a variety of nuts, vegetables and fruit twice weekly. They forage for food in between feedings, and have access to plenty of water. Supplementary feeding is useful when monitoring the welfare of the squirrels, and cameras are often positioned at the feeding stations so that the squirrels can be counted and their patterns of behaviour as individuals, and within a group, can be noted and assessed.

During this year, several groups of kits have been born and are thriving. Over 60 squirrels are now well established on the island, and as they are free to roam with no predators, and with no competition from grey squirrels, this number is likely to rise.

Next year a number of Caldey’s red squirrels will be removed from the island and exchanged for new reds so that the gene pool is kept healthy.

Happily, many visitors to the island over the summer caught a glimpse or two of the red squirrels as they are lively, inquisitive and always looking for their next meal.