Red squirrels go nuts at Hauxley nature reserve in Northumberland

As the summer draws to close, the army of redsquirrels have been spotted running up and down the trees, either eating the hazelnuts or running off to bury them just below the soil’s surface - known as scatter hoarding - much to the delight of visitors to the reserve.

The stashes of nuts are located over the winter by their scent but are very often they are forgotten about and result in new trees growing from them, or stolen by other wildlife, luckily for the Hauxley squirrels a team of volunteers top up our squirrel feeders everyday over the winter and spring with food provided by private donations.

The Hauxley squirrels are no strangers to attention from members of the public and have made cameo appearances on BBC Countryfile and BBC Springwatch.

Red squirrels are opportunistic eaters and will dine on anything from nuts, seeds, fruits, tree shoots, buds to flowers, berries and tree bark, although nuts and seeds are their preferred choice due to their energy density. On average, they spend about 90% of their time outside their nests foraging, feeding, and storing food.

Alex Lister, Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s Druridge Bay Landscape Manager says:“We had a bumper crop of hazelnuts on our trees this year, probably due to the hot weather, then all the rain, which has kept our red squirrels very busy.

“They usually appear early morning and early evening but this year they have been out throughout the day eating the nuts, burying them in the woodland and in hollowed out old trees.

“It will be a race against time to see who finds them first next spring - the squirrels or other wildlife on the reserve, who will all be on the lookout for something to eat, so don’t forget to come along and see them before the reserve’s autumn opening hours are introduced.”

Deborah Simpson from Bracknell, visiting Hauxley last week said:“We have grey squirrels where live so it’s been an absolute joy watching the red squirrels hiding their nuts on this lovely reserve. The people of the north east are really lucky to have such wonderful wildlife on their doorsteps.”