A recent forest stroll in search of Red Squirrels produced a most unexpected encounter, with one of Scotland’s most charismatic animals, the Pine Marten. I was aware they were back in the region after a 150 year absence, following the publication of a joint study from Scottish Natural Heritage and the Vincent Wildlife Trust, which detailed their sporadic spread across the Tweed Valley over the last few years. But to spot one, albeit only a fleeting glimpse, was amazing; made all the more unbelievable because it was in daylight. Pine Martens are usually nocturnal and very elusive.

So I was walking along, camera in hand, looking up at the dense pine tree-line for any sign of squirrel activity, when I heard a faint rustling from beneath a pile of coniferous debris at the side of the footpath, which had accumulated in a muddy trough from recent woodland clearance and wind damage. My first thought was, it can’t be a Red Squirrel, as they rarely spend time at ground level, unlike their Grey nemesis. After five prolonged seconds, a brown and white blur emerged from under the heap of branches and bolted up the nearest tree, giving out a loud squeak as it did so.

I stood for a few moments in disbelief, frantically searching my mind to check I hadn’t jumped to conclusions as it vanished into the evergreen canopy. No, it couldn’t have been anything else. An unusually coloured Stoat crossed my mind, but they are not known to live in this area of habitat and this creature was considerably bigger, although not the size of a fully grown Pine Marten. As is often the case with wildlife-spotting, your most memorable sightings are usually unexpected and catch you off-guard. Needless to say, the only photographic evidence of this encounter was a fantastically crisp shot of some tree bark.

Anyhow, I set up my remote camera near where I spotted it and carried on with my hunt for Red Squirrels- a little distracted. The walk was also supposed to soothe my chronic back pain, which it seemed to do, however, I was now trading that for a stiff neck as I gazed skywards. When I did eventually spot one, it was of course when I was walking along head down cleaning my camera lens and fiddling with settings. The unmistakeable clattering sound of claws moving over wood, followed by an agitated Red Squirrel, chattering its way up the trunk in protest.

I just had time to snap a blurry image of it before it ascended into the treetops and sat above me out of sight, chittering its discontent over the disturbance. The Upper Tweed Valley is once again becoming a stronghold for these marginalised rodents, despite being in close proximity to the invasive Grey Squirrels, which have decimated the native Red Squirrel population, primarily through the spread of ‘Squirrelpox’- a virus many Greys carry and unwittingly transmit to their cousins. The Red Squirrel then suffers an uncomfortable and painful death, usually through malnutrition, as the disease can cause its mouth and ears to fill with mucus and close up, preventing it from feeding. They usually die within 15 days of contracting it.

Grey Squirrel culling is on-going in the region and has proved successful, with some areas seeing a resurgence in Red numbers. However the Scottish Borders does still have many overlapping areas containing both species and efforts will have to continue to control Grey numbers to ensure the future survival of our native species. That said, I don’t agree with the complete extermination of the Greys, as not all carry Squirrelpox and have not invaded the country intentionally. Realistically given how ubiquitous they now are, it is more likely their distribution will ideally be fragmented to such an extent that only a few isolated populations remain in habitat that is distant from Red Squirrel territories.

The Pine Marten, which is enjoying a more welcomed revival could play an important part in securing the future of the Red Squirrel, as studies have shown that given the choice in regions where both squirrel species coexist, they choose to prey on Greys. It is thought they do this for three main reasons. Firstly, the Greys are bigger and therefore represent a more calorific meal. Secondly, they are not quite as quick and agile as the Reds, so are potentially an easier meal, and thirdly, Reds spend more time in the highest parts of the trees, whereas Greys often forage on the ground, making them easier to catch.

I’ll be back there soon to check the remote camera, so hopefully, more to follow! Below are a few images I took of the Red Squirrel and the Autumnal foliage.