The Island is a nationally important stronghold for our indigenous species of squirrel and monitoring and surveys are key to looking after our red squirrels on the Isle of Wight.
Woodland owners
This autumn, Becky Watts is undertaking the all-Island survey of woodland over 1ha to establish presence or absence as part of our monitoring strategy.
If you own woodland over 1ha and are happy to have it checked please contact Helen via email: [email protected]
Corridors are as important as habitat, so studies and tree planting have improved links in the countryside over the past two decades.
Ryde urban area
This leaves urban areas to look at, and Ryde has been chosen to start the ball rolling.
There are occasional sightings of young squirrels dispersing through the town, but do any stay in gardens for long? It is surprising just how many large trees are in our gardens which could add to overall habitat for our red squirrels.
Get in touch
Over to you garden owners in the town to tell us about any squirrels seen in 2025 in Ryde.
Dates, estimated will suffice if you can’t remember, with a postcode please and also the squirrel’s coat colour as this will help identify if it’s the same animal travelling round your area.
Reds do come in all sorts of shades of red, brown and even grey!
Please email information to Helen Butler MBE: [email protected] or telephone (01983) 611 003, leaving a message, including your phone number, for a return call.
News shared by Helen on behalf of the Wight Squirrel Project. Ed
