Set in the woods, a little way from the Boathouse, is the Blairs Loch Squirrel Hide. Constructed to give our visitors the opportunity to watch the beautiful Red Squirrels.

Across much of the UK the populations of these native woodland mammals have been decimated by the invasion of non-native Grey Squirrels introduced from North America. The north of Scotland remains a critically important refuge for our Red friends and we are delighted to have some residents at Loch of Blairs.

The Friends volunteers have worked hard to make the hide, and the feeding area, as natural as possible. Whilst we do have some simple, garden type, feeders to keep the multitude of birds fed, the main feeding area is made from storm blown Silver Birch tree branches that provide an assault course for the Squirrels. It has become a very popular place for local wildlife photographers who appreciate the natural look of the area.

We do, however, have more than just Squirrels using the feeders – the local Pine Martens have found the place and, after the Squirrels have gone to bed in the evenings, they regularly stop by for a meal. Pine Martens are the only mustelid with semi-retractable claws which makes them exceptionally good climbers and very quick runners on the ground.

Pine Martens and Red Squirrels happily co-habit in the same area and recent research has indicated that Pine Martens are important in keeping the Grey Squirrel invasion at bay. Grey Squirrels, being much larger and heavier than Reds, spend much more time on the ground and in the lower, bigger, branches of trees. Red Squirrels, whilst still coming to the ground to search for feed, are incredibly fast and quickly race to the upper, weaker, branches of trees when threatened by predators. This makes the Grey Squirrels far easier prey for the Pine Martens than the Reds and is helping to slowly turn the tide against the unwanted invaders.

If you have the time, please come and visit our Squirrel Hide. We know you will not be disappointed.

Alternatively, why not log into our YouTube based livestream wildlife camera by clicking on the tab below (you may have to press the [play] button).

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