Retired policeman Ian Glendinning has spent the last year studying a population of native red squirrels in one of Northumberland’s most striking landscapes.
But he warns that unless organisations such as Northumberland Wildlife Trust, Northumberland National Park and Forestry England commit to the control of advancing grey squirrels, the day will soon come when there will be no more reds left.
“I hope we can impress on people that unless there is a concerted effort by these organisations and the community, their children and grandchildren will never see a red squirrel,” said Ian, who is a member of the Coquetdale Squirrel Group. “It is time for the whole of Coquetdale to get involved before the native red squirrel disappears from our woods forever.”
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The lack of grey control is, claims Ian, leading to the creation of grey squirrel havens and ‘reserves’. The greys infect reds with the squirrel pox disease, which is fatal to the native animals and also out-compete reds for food and territory,
Ian, who served for 32 years with Northumbria Police, had called a public meeting at the Rose and Thistle pub in Alwinton to raise awareness and call for action on the reds’ plight. However, he has now caught Covid and the meeting will be re-scheduled for a later date.
He said: “We are struggling to stem the tide of the greys and if this continues we are only delaying the inevitable. The option of doing nothing is going to lead to the extinction of the reds in a very short space of time.”
In the last six months, Ian has despatched 115 greys from four woods in the Upper Coquet. “It is dispiriting and disheartening. The situation is not helped by the lack of support the group has experienced from those organisations whose job it is to protect our native species,” he said.
“The few volunteers do the work that should be carried out by paid-for wardens working for bodies like the National Park, Forestry England, and Northumberland Wildlife Trust. But they all say they haven’t the funds for squirrel control work while continuing to let the few volunteers do their work for free. However, the group now believes it is time for these bodies to re-prioritise where they spend their funds or the red squirrels will permanently disappear from the Northumberland landscape.”
He added: “The squirrels I study are on land close by nature reserves where we haven’t got the resources to tackle the greys. It’s inevitable that the reds catch the disease and their numbers decline. The reserves’ owners should either deal with the grey problem themselves or hand over the management to someone who can.”
Ian’s monitoring of the reds population is part of his studies for a masters in environmental management and is looking at the territorial range of the animals, their feeding habits, and how they interact with each other and the greys. He has identified 17 individuals and is recording their different personalities.
“Some are timid and others are feisty. Some eat anything and others only eat hazelnuts. Female reds are thought to be promiscuous but one couple I am studying are inseparable,” said Ian.
He hopes that the meeting will both lead to the recruitment of more volunteers and see action agreed on a control scheme. “We hope that the Wildlife Trust, National Park and Forestry England will listen to what we are saying and instigate a strategy of grey control and the creation of reds’ habitat of broadleaf woodland.”
Mike Pratt, chief executive of Northumberland Wildlife Trust, said: “We have supported local groups in red squirrel conservation for many years and that is ongoing, and in some areas we have had really positive results. We are running out of funding but we are working to bring in new resources. If there is an issue we can sit down with the Coquetdale Group and see what we can do.”
The Red Squirrel Northern England project is based at the Wildlife Trust and project manager Mike Denbury said it hopes funding could come from the new Countryside Stewardship Scheme.
A Northumberland National Park Authority spokesperson said: “Northumberland National Park Authority is aware of the group and have accepted an invitation to their meeting when it takes place."
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