Foraging for Breakfast.

They say, " the early bird catches the worm. " That is why this photographer is filling the feeder with hazelnuts at 5.30am on an August morning.I didn't have to wait long before a red squirrel came for breakfast.

The squirrel held the nut in its jaw and scampered along the wall displaying wonderful agility skills, as captured when tracking the movement with my camera. It took 7 seconds to travel the length of the wall and into the wood.

A little while later the same red squirrel returns to select a hazelnut and stays to eat the nut whilst perched on the branch.

The same red squirrel returns for a third helping of hazelnuts which it buries to hopefully find later.

A red squirrel has an exceptionally good sense of smell.They can find buried food underneath a foot of snow and know if a nut is rotten without opening it. Hope this red squirrel finds this nut during the winter. 

This photographer is now going for her breakfast!

Picture Perfect.

Every season of the year has its own problems when trying to get the red squirrels to pose for the perfect photograph.

June, July and August are my favourite times to photograph the red squirrels on the Underscar Estate. I will get up around 5.30 am and wander around the grounds.

In July 2014 one of these early morning walks proved to be very special to me. I took the photo seen above.This photo was chosen by artist Madeline Harper to create a pastel drawing of this subject.

The pastel drawing was then exhibited in the East Cheshire Hospice Art Fair 2014 at Macclesfield Town Hall in September. The sale of the artwork is a great fundraiser for the hospice.

I was thrilled when we visited the exhibition to see the Underscar Red Squirrel exhibited. It became a treasured moment for me when later Madeline told me the pastel had sold on the first evening.

Quite often in August I use a selection of logs with hazelnuts hidden in the crevices on the Derwent patio. The red squirrels soon discover them and pose perfectly by the logs.

Posing with a beautifully bleached summer tail.

A female posing with a beautiful white bib.

This male shows off his variation of the darker tail.

Thank-you Madeline from taking one of these photos from my blog and producing a pastel for me. It was a lovely surprise moment for me in 2014 when you gave it to me at the Art Exhibition.

Pastel of an Underscar Red Squirrel by Madeline Harper.

Will Aniseed draw out the Underscar Red Squirrels?

Young wildlife explorers, Ben and Matthew, joined me again at Underscar to carry on with their red squirrel investigations.

A camouflaged Matthew chooses the wall where he can look straight onto the patio of Grange Apartment. Behind, Ben looks for a good vantage point.

We had read an article in The Westmorland Gazette which stated that red squirrels were having a ball at a Lake District holiday park since aniseed was introduced to their feeding mix.

Matthew and Ben thought that this theory could be worth testing out with our Underscar Red Squirrel colony. Grange patio was set up with two feeding stations. The feeding station with the hazelnuts inside the log was treated with aniseed. The feeding station with the hazelnuts inside the coconut shape was left untreated with aniseed.

We were able to find all our materials to set this up from the woodland walk.

Matthew uses the aniseed spray to treat the top and inside of the log.

Our first visitor ( A Dunnock) seems interested in the hazelnuts.

We then get into a vantage point where we think we can sit and wait and observe for some length of time.

You can just make out that Matthew has some camouflage face paints to help break up his outline.

Ben is ready to get that photo using a camouflage sheet to part cover up.

This red squirrel prefers its hazelnut treated with aniseed as it comes back to the feeder many times.

We notice the red flash going through its tail.

The red squirrel is so keen to get its hazelnut from the treated feeder that it sneaks right inside.

On looking back through our record of red squirrel photos we see that we had captured a photo of this red squirrel when it was just a kit (baby red squirrel).

This red squirrel was a baby last year.It has fended and foraged for itself well to make it into its second year.

We decided that the aniseed worked well in the feeder. During the testing out of this we experienced wet weather. Most of the text book information on red squirrels states that they are less active on cold,wet or windy days. The Underscar squirrels disprove this often visiting during heavy downpours.

Using its tail as an umbrella.This time it is taking a hazelnut from the other end of the log.

On speaking with Ben and Matthew we thought it would be a good idea to place a cuddly red squirrel in the reception area.

Here he is. Meet Oxley - our cuddly little red squirrel friend.You can take him out with you on your adventures, then write in the book and tell us about your day.

Matthew took him out on an adventure with all his family. His grandma managed to find another Oxley while they were out; so Matthew can now go home with his own Oxley.

Looking back over our red squirrel photos, I chose one which I thought looks like Oxley.

Thank you, Ben and Matthew, for your help again.

Up close and personal.

Underscar red squirrels make for great subjects to photograph. I set up in June a special coconut feeder on the pine tree at the top of the woodland walk.

Through observing and studying red squirrels for such a long time,you begin to see their different personalities. One may be bold and mischievous, whilst another may be cautious and shy.I was lucky within the hour a bold squirrel was investigating this new object.

It was so carried away with acquiring its preferred hazelnut that it allowed me to get up close and personal to keep clicking away with my camera.

The details can be seen in this red squirrel's claws as it selects exactly the hazelnut it desires.

                     Beyond a hazelnut's shell there is a tasty kernel to be eaten.

With a perfect branch to balance on this red squirrel was quite contented to let me stay up close and personal. I took many photos and it was possible for me to make every image different from the last.

Oh dear all the nuts have disappeared.

Thank-you for the refill.

Now which one shall I choose?

At the end of the afternoon I returned to the woodland walk and this same bold red squirrel was still bounding down the wall to its coconut feeder.The distinctive deeper russet coloured stripe down the centre of its back makes it easy identifiable.

I hope if you visit Underscar this summer you will spot "STRIPE."

Maria's Blog: Pin Badges For Underscar.

Maria's Blog: Pin Badges For Underscar.: We are very lucky to have a red squirrel colony on the Underscar Estate.These beautiful creatures are a delight to watch and if you have nev...

Pin Badges For Underscar.

We are very lucky to have a red squirrel colony on the Underscar Estate.These beautiful creatures are a delight to watch and if you have never seen a red squirrel before, your first sighting will be a moment to treasure.

They are naturally timid creatures, although the squirrel colony has grown used to the human visitors who share their space at Underscar.

Pauline and Derek Harrison previous owners of Underscar Manor were the first to coax the colony along through careful supplementary feeding. Now the couple are retired the Underscar family carry on this work.


I hope when Pauline and Derek still visit Underscar they will enjoy especially the sight of the squirrels clambering over the feeders with Underscar Manor as a backdrop. 

Pin badges are the latest addition to our red squirrel products at Underscar. Pin badges have now become fashion accessories.By wearing one of the Underscar red squirrel badges we are highlighting how we are trying to protect one of the many successful red squirrel colonies in Cumbria.This is how I wear my Underscar red squirrel badges.

Underscar has launched a competition for children and young people to design a squirrel pin badge. 

Wish you were here.

Due to their exceptional sense of balance and physique,red squirrels can explore every nook and cranny searching for hazelnuts.

Each August when we arrive at Underscar, I place a feeding log on Derwent Apartment patio. Hazelnuts are placed on top and inside the log.The red squirrels soon appear.

This squirrel perched on its hind legs watches carefully the walkway below checking to see if families are walking past on their way to the bistro or swimming pool. He decides to retrieve a nut from inside the log.

He chooses so carefully rejecting some. A very sensitive nose means he can determine whether food is still edible or has gone off, based on how it smells. I get lucky now as this red squirrel jumps onto the log to enjoy his hazelnut.

I was asked by a dad in the apartment above if I produced postcards as well as cards to raise money for the supplementary feeding of the Underscar red squirrel colony. His little boy wanted to send a card home to his grandma to say 'Wish you were here'. This pose seemed to fit the brief, so 500 of these cards will raise money this year, to keep the Underscar Red Squirrel Colony in good health.

This squirrel worked hard emptying all the nuts from the feeding log within an hour.

Their furry tail is almost as long as their entire body and helps them maintain their balance.

The postcards, badges, and cards can be found on reception at Oxleys. All monies raised provides supplementary feeding for the Underscar Red Squirrels. I would like to thank all the staff who make this supplementary feeding possible, and all the timeshare owners who purchase cards.