The sharp frost is slowly loosening its grip, but there is still ice on the bracken. From a chilly seat in a hide in the woods above Aberfoyle, right on the Highland boundary, I see the flicker of a bushy brown tail.
Then a pert face, jaws rapidly chomping, pops up above a log in the clearing. The red squirrel looks directly towards me, then quickly twists away. Its rich chestnut fur undulates as the flexible body races across the ground and up a pine tree.
I never tire of seeing squirrels here in Stirlingshire, especially in winter when they are a warm breath of life, but I am lucky to have them on my doorstep. There are just 160,000 red squirrels now in the UK. South of the Scottish border, reds are now relegated to a few pockets as introduced American grey squirrels have taken over. Most of them – perhaps 120,000 – are in Scotland. They are doing well in the Highlands, mainly in the east, and in south-west Scotland there are good populations. But all face pressure from the bigger greys, which out-compete them for food, and carry – but don’t suffer from – squirrelpox, which is fatal to reds.
Efforts to help reds in Scotland are showing positive results: the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels project (SSRS) has restored them to much of the woodland just south of the Highland Line, with a programme of grey ‘control’ – the grim task of culling. The same method is helping to steady populations in southern Scotland.
Denne historien er fra January 2022-utgaven av BBC Countryfile Magazine.
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Denne historien er fra January 2022-utgaven av BBC Countryfile Magazine.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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We Are an Island Nation - So Let's Protect Our Seas - Living in the UK makes us islanders and personally I'm proud of that definition - not in any political or jingoistic sense, but simply because I love the sea and in this country we are totally surrounded by it.
Living in the UK makes us islanders and personally I'm proud of that definition - not in any political or jingoistic sense, but simply because I love the sea and in this country we are totally surrounded by it. We live inside thousands of miles of coastline, in a nation whose borders were created by nature and made us what we are.
Discover Jurassic Coast - With its towering cliffs, sweeping beaches and pretty seaside towns, the shoreline of Dorset and east Devon is spectacular.
With its towering cliffs, sweeping beaches and pretty seaside towns, the shoreline of Dorset and east Devon is spectacular. Jo Caird fossicks for fossils and dramatic rock formations. It's an auspicious start to my journey along the Jurassic Coast. This 95-mile stretch of shore mostly in Dorset, but nudging just into east Devon - is blessed with awe-inspiring geological formations and fossil deposits that have garnered it recognition as England's only natural UNESCO World Heritage Site. Snaking east from Orcombe Point near Exmouth to Old Harry Rocks near Swanage, it's studded with monumental rock arches, seemingly endless shingle beaches and fossil beds from which treasures were prised that altered our understanding of prehistory.
Viking shores
We picture Vikings marauding coastal settlements, looting and raiding. But what was life really like in the Viking Age? Historian Eleanor Barraclough reveals what the ancient artefacts found on Britain's shores tell us about our formidable forebears
Sea horses
On Cornwall's coastal clifftops, Melanie O'Shea meets the hardy grazing ponies that are helping to restore the land, so nature can flourish once more
A wing and a prayer
From their desks at Boulmer, 1,000 RAF personnel watch the skies for airborne threats to the country. Yet beyond the concrete of the base, vulnerable birdlife flourishes - thanks to the hard work of a small team
Cast in bone
Cuttlefish bones washed up on our shores have been used to make jewellery since ancient times. Jo Caird meets a craftswoman who's keeping the art alive on the Kent coast
EDIBLE SEAWEEDS
An ancient food harvested by humans for millennia, seaweeds bring an intense and rich flavour of the sea to a wide range of dishes, as well as essential mind-and-body-boosting nutrients
Spines and sulky faces
Watch where you put your feet at the beach - a weever fish could be lurking
Sea stars
The playful performances of Britain's bottlenose dolphins attract avid fans - but they deserve personal space
Harris's wildly beautiful beach
Cornwall may pull in the crowds, but one Hebridean strand stuns visitors