Just a Selection.

                                       JANUARY: Perfect Landing                                                                                                                                                 

                                        FEBRUARY: Beautiful Blue Tit

MARCH: A nut for a Nuthatch

                                            















                                      APRIL: Great Crested Grebe heralds the start of Spring


                                                                                             

                                                   MAY: Barn Owl locating supper

                                                JUNE: Punk Chick, coiffured adult

                                        JULY: Another telling off for the Guillemot chick

              AUGUST: Good pose and becomes the 2014 postcard for Underscar

SEPTEMBER: What a wingspan - up to two metres

                               OCTOBER: Well hidden Little Owl calling to it's mate

NOVEMBER: Two for the price of one: Nut Feast, thanks to the owners, Oxley's members and friendly staff on site for buying squirrel cards..

                      DECEMBER: Britain's favourite bird looking fierce and bullish

Oxley the red squirrel. His first winter.

Oxley the red squirrel, during infancy stays within easy reach of his parents drey. As he grows he will start to move further away from the woodland surrounding the Underscar Estate.

Now 16 weeks old he will probably be living in an area of the woodland which the older squirrels have decided is not a good location. They will get first pick of the best areas. As the older squirrels die, Oxley   
may manage  to slip back to a better area and establish a more permanent space.

At the moment the forestry commission are thinning out the woodlands surrounding the Underscar Estate. Oxley may decide to build his first winter drey there.

Oxley is still easily recognisable to me. He is always the first up the boundary wall at Castlerigg in the morning. He knows I will have just filled the feeder with hazelnuts.

If I am in the process of filling the feeder he just sits close by on the wall waiting.

He will sniff quite a lot trying to decide if he is safe staying so near to me.

The above photos were all taken on a sunny morning.The ear tufts look freshly crimped, What a difference a wet day makes on the ear tufts, see below.

A frosty morning saw him surprised as fine rain froze on his fur and whiskers. His ear tufts became frozen and looked like needles.
He was curious about the cold feeling on his paws. He seemed to be trying to warm them up.

Winter will be tough for Oxley so he has developed a thick fur coat. By far the highest  proportion of deaths in a red squirrel colony is accounted for by youngsters under one year of age. Oxley will not be as experienced at finding the cached hazelnuts. This could mean he gets extremely hungry.

Oxley trying to remember where the buried hazelnuts are.

Supplementary feeding at Underscar is so important at this time of year. It prevents a population crash if the winter is bad. Once a squirrel has made it past the age of one, be it a red or a grey, it is not uncommon for it to live on to 4 or even 5 years of age.

The Fisherbeck staff at Underscar do a marvellous job in looking after the red squirrel colony. Liz O'Neill sells the squirrel photo cards on reception. All monies raised is used by Glenis Jones (Head Housekeeper) to purchase the hazelnuts. Glenis fills the feeders every 3 to 4 days. The maintenance team ---- Julian, Richard, and Nathan site new feeders and maintain them.


There are many variations in how a red squirrel looks. I am fascinated by what differences in red squirrels can emerge from the chance mixing of genes. The most unusual red squirrel I have spotted at Underscar in November this year had the most amazing two tone tail . It was very easy to spot during its foraging. It seemed a very dominant male in its relationship with the others.

Underscar: "November Baby."

Last week was spent in the Castlerigg Apartment at Underscar. The wall running by the side of this apartment gives me opportunity to observe the red squirrels coming to the feeder. I was thrilled every morning to see a November baby bounding up the wall.

                  This wall seems to be part of a lovely playground for the red squirrels.

This baby always seemed to be the first up the wall in the morning. I decided to call him 'Oxley!'

 Oxley will be about 12 weeks old. He is independent and can fend for himself , foraging for his own food. He will be from a second litter,which are born at the end of the summer.With the supplementary food given to the red squirrels at Underscar, it is no surprise that the females have two litters each year. A female will only achieve two litters if she is fit. Female red squirrels will not breed if they are not of a sufficient weight, or if food is scarce.

          Oxley clutches his chest as he surveys his adventure playground.

As I continue observing Oxley investigating his new playground, I am impressed by how he prepares to make a leap.

                    His ear tufts are blown back as he prepares for lift off.

                           Star jumper Oxley making his leap of faith. 

         He would spend a lot of time perfecting the angle he jumped from.

Midweek I noticed Oxley had a little sister with him. I decided to call her 'Skiddaw.'

          Skiddaw has fewer ear tufts and is far more cautious than Oxley.

She uses the same branch as Oxley but creeps further along before launching.

                             Skiddaw attempting a perfect landing


Capturing Oxley and Skiddaw in the air was a new venture for me. Watching them happily play chase was wonderful. The chasing was fast,and very vocal. At some point they would end up eating quietly at a safe distance apart on the boundary wall.

Young Wildlife Explorers at Underscar.

Most mornings during the half-term week at Underscar, I was joined by Ben and Matthew. They were staying in the Latrigg apartment and were very keen to find out what I was up to down on our Grange apartment patio.

On Monday I placed a half coconut filled with hazelnuts in one of the trees. We didn't have to wait long before a male squirrel discovered these. Ben thought it a good idea how I use double sided sticky tape to attach nuts onto the trailing tree branches. The male squirrel soon followed the trail to the coconut.

The ear tufts were very prominent on this red squirrel. These tufts are present for most of the year but are moulted in late summer and regrow in early autumn.

It is thought that the main function of these ear tufts is to keep the ears warm, and help circulation of the blood in a thin organ such as the ear.

This male squirrel stayed a few minutes enjoying its hazelnut. Its next nut it decided to carry to the top of the pillar wall at Grange. We got a really good view of the ear tufts.

On Wednesday we were rewarded for our patience as we all sat quietly observing a feeding log we had placed on Grange patio. A female red squirrel kept coming and going to cache the hazelnuts.

At the end of the week Ben thought it would be a good idea to place hazelnuts on the pillars at the top of Grange apartment steps. He was right, as we were able to entice this male squirrel with the hazelnuts.

                        This red squirrel spends time selecting a hazelnut.

     The red squirrel weighs the hazelnut to see if the nut inside is a large one.

         
           Satisfied with its choice it runs away to cache it, to retrieve later.

On the last morning when Ben and Matthew came down to Grange patio they spotted a Wood Mouse.They thought themselves very lucky to see this as it is nocturnal. We were all amused how it was carrying away the hazelnuts we had left for the squirrels.

It was very brave creeping back to take hazelnut after hazelnut to its secret store.

With approximately one Wood Mouse for every two people in the UK, they are one of its most common small mammals.

We have all enjoyed our wild life exploring this week. Ben thinks that red squirrels rock, and Matthew says he just loves red squirrels.

IT'S NATIONAL RED SQUIRREL WEEK!

      If you're nuts about squirrels, it's Red Squirrel Week this week!

      The Underscar Timeshare Owners have certainly got involved in Red Squirrrel Week, through helpng our beautiful redheaded friends by purchasing red squirrel photo cards - all monies raised from the sale of these cards provides supplementary feeding for the red squirrels on the Underscar Estate. And also new squirrel feeders were purchased this year with the monies raised.

       To celebrate this special week for these beautiful redheads, here are some photos which I took during August on the Underscar Estate.Yours to enjoy!



                                             

"Today's an umbrella day!"

"What do you mean I've made a mess with these shells, what do you think this long tail is for?"

"Only the best will do. The man from Delmonte says yes!"

                                    

                                                      "I'm looking at the view."

                                                                                   

                                                  "Clear off! I was here first!"

Underscar Red Squirrel Photography.

    During our August stay at Underscar I was pleased to be asked, "How can I obtain some good red squirrel photos to email home to my friend?"

    I hope the advice I gave resulted in some good photos for the young girl who asked me this question. Here is the advice I would give.

    Early morning gives more opportunities for red squirrel shots as they are a lot more active at this time.

    The feeder containing hazelnuts at the top of the woodland walk is a favourite stop off for early morning red squirrels.They usually come up the steps or use the rope rails of the woodland walk to get to the feeder. Early morning will see me on the woodland walk always wearing clothing to try and blend in with the beautiful foliage. I too use the rope rail.

                            Can you spot me as I blend in with the background

                         

One early morning I was fortunate to get several shots of the red squirrel on the black pole.

 

                                          Red squirrels can be left or right handed.

                                 Red squirrel using its tail to achieve perfect balance.

                     Head and body length is 18-24cms,and the tail can be 14-24 cms.


    Instead of looking for red squirrels you need to listen for them.When they are feeding you can hear them nibbling on the nuts.

    If you see a red squirrel in the Underscar gardens do not take your eyes off it.Usually it will have a hazelnut it has taken from one of the feeders. Quite often it will go a short distance from the feeder to enjoy the nut.

    Be as quiet as you can as you watch the red squirrel nibbling. Noise and particularly movement disturbs the squirrels more than anything.The more relaxed you are the better shots you will capture.

    These are my two favourite photos from my August stay which I emailed to my friends. Hazelnuts were hidden in the log.This red squirrel found them quickly.The photos reveal how he has lost a piece of his ear in a disagreement.

     The red squirrel photographed here looks so healthy.So yet again such a big thank-you to the Underscar owners who carry on purchasing the red squirrel cards.All the monies raised provides supplementary feeding for the Underscar Red Squirrel Colony.