In Great Britain and Ireland, numbers have decreased drastically in recent years, in part because of the introduction of the eastern grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) from North America.
The red squirrel is rust-red to greyish-red above being brightest on the sides, white or greyish-white below and the tail is similar to the back color but is outlined with a broad, black band edged in white. The coat is duller in the summer and a black line separated the back and underbelly colours. The average red squirrel weighs 7-12 ounces.
This creature feeds heavily on pine seeds and in the fall it cuts green cones and buries them in damp earth ; other sustenance includes nuts, seeds, birds’ eggs, young birds and fungi.
It makes a nest of leaves in a hollow or fallen tree, hole in the ground or tree crotch. 3-7 young are born in March or April and there is sometimes a second litter in August or September. The squirrel is a chatterbox with a variety of calls to announce its home range or the presence of intruders.
Tracks are common between trees and near holes in the ground where they have dug up buried cones. Squirrels place their feet next to each other rather than one in front of the other. In deep snow their tracks are characterized by two diamond shapes next to one another.
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