The results are in

The results are in - Northumberland Wildlife Trust

Red Squirrels Northern England (RSNE) has published the results of its annual red and grey squirrel survey, which once again confirms that red squirrels can still be found across Cumbria, Northumberland, north Yorkshire and in Lancashire and Merseyside.

The results are in for the red squirrels. Image by Charles Thody.

The monitoring programme is the only scientific evidence base that helps measure whether the collective red squirrel conservation effort is making a difference in the north of England.

Each year the programme aims to survey around 250 sites and involved a huge 150 people in 2023. Without the help of all those involved, completion of the survey would simply not be possible.

Overall results show that red squirrels were found in 50% of sites this year, down from 53.2% in 2022.

On the other hand, grey squirrels were found in 62.3% of sites, an increase of 5.3% compared to last year.

In Northumberland, specifically, grey detection continues to be around 20% higher than red detection in Northumberland which is a similar result to last year.

Certain areas have yielded good results for our native species such as in Northumberland National Park, where red squirrel detection remains slightly higher than grey.

Kyloe red squirrel reserve is also a key area for red squirrels thanks to conservation efforts from the Save Our Squirrels Berwick volunteer group. Surveys conducted within the reserve itself found only reds present.

This year in Northumberland there was an increase in surveys finding both red and grey squirrels, in contrast to last year where there was a reduction in sites with squirrels present. It was thought this reduction could be due to storm Arwen causing displacement of populations, and the 2023 results suggest they may be returning.

For the first time since beginning the annual monitoring programme grey squirrel detection in Cumbria was higher than red detection by 9.6%. This may seem disconcerting, however there were 20 sites with historical red squirrel occupancy not surveyed. If they were surveyed, and reds were present, overall red squirrel occupancy would be significantly higher.