News
Port Bannatyne red squirrels at feeder – August 2026
Squirrel route through trees at Stuck Cottage – July 2026
This clip shows a particular route used by squirrels at Stuck Cottage
Port Bannatyne red squirrels – July 2026
Red squirrels at Port Bannatyne feeder
Port Bannatyne – April and May 2026
Red squirrels were first spotted here in January 2026. Click to watch the trail cam footage
Barmore Wood – June & July 2025
Trail cam footage of one of the hair sample tubes placed in Barmore Wood, Bute.
Protecting food
Why perch on a sloping roof?
The importance of learning routes
Why learning routes are important
Genetics progress update
The red squirrel genetics project is making good progress. We have hair tubes out at three locations in Bute, with at least three more sites planned for later in the summer. Each hair tube is baited with nuts and a small sticky patch; a few hairs stick to the patch as...
Bute Red Squirrel Genetics Project
Introduction The Bute Red Squirrel Project has found several areas on Bute where red squirrels are living. But it seems that something is holding back our island squirrel population. Why aren’t our red squirrels as common as they are on the mainland in Argyll? ...
Bardarrach Wood – after the storm February 2025
Bute's red squirrels are having to adapt to a changed landscape after the storm....
Where we are Now…
updates from the Chair
Genetics project for Bute’s red squirrels
I'm really pleased that we can now officially go public about our red squirrel genetics project that will be starting on the Isle of Bute very soon. It's a 'minimally invasive' study that uses hair tubes to collect tiny samples of red squirrel hair. Essentially, the...
Red Squirrel Project update – December 2023
As the year comes to a close it feels like we have discovered two key things in 2023. The first is the huge amount of goodwill and enthusiasm to conserve our red squirrels. That means we have a great opportunity to help Bute’s red squirrel population thrive and expand...
Gardening for Red Squirrels
Confirmation that we have red squirrels on Bute has prompted questions about when we might see red squirrels in our gardens. Our red squirrel population is probably small and the squirrels are mainly living far away from human habitation. Even if we plant...
Red Squirrel Project – June 2023
June 2023 saw the end of this first phase of the Bute Red Squirrel Project. All our feederswere gathered in, cleaned up and put in storage for the time being. We now have a moreacademic challenge. We are writing up what we have found and thinking about our plans...
Red Squirrel Project – May 2023
May 2023 was a tale of two sightings. Without them it would have been a very quiet monthindeed for red squirrel news in Bute.We have deployed our feeders to the final major blocks of woodland on the island as wecomplete this initial phase of the red squirrel project....
Red Squirrel Project – April 2023
After a three month absence of red squirrel evidence from our feeders, we at last had a small piece of positive evidence. You might remember that we had a sighting reported in March of a red squirrel south of Mount Stuart near Scoulag. What we discovered in early...