Visiting the red squirrels at Yorkshire Arboretum near York

We have only been here for ten minutes and we have spotted a red squirrel complete with those famous tufted ears. She’s a wonderful sight. 

My husband and I have come to the Yorkshire Arboretum where a small breeding group of red squirrels - the UK’s only native squirrel species - live in a large, purpose-built enclosure where the creatures can breed.

“That’s ginger, she was one of the first-born kits in 2023,” says Ben Paterson, arborist and red squirrel officer at the attraction, which opened in April 2023. “She got that nickname as she is extremely ginger. We’ve also got sisters Holly and Hazel, who were named after a visitor vote, as well as a number of last year’s kits.”

Sadly, the enclosure lost its resident male squirrel Erik the Red - the father of the kits - who died earlier this year from an eye infection.

“We had between 12 and 14 kits last year - we were really pleased, says Ben. “Holly has had three litters with around seven kits.”

The kits will shortly be separated from the group and taken to a squirrel release project in Clocaenog Forest, North Wales, where they will live in the wild. Young squirrels born at the arboretum are part of a national breeding network, the Red Squirrel Studbook - which aims to ensure a genetically diverse population.

The Red Squirrel enclosure, which includes oaks, hazels and other native trees, was designed and built entirely by arboretum staff and volunteers. Financed by the then Prince of Wales Charitable Fund, and with help from numerous other individuals and organisations, it has a perimeter of steel panels with a non-grip coating and a three metre no-leap zone all around, designed to keep the red squirrels in and grey squirrels out.

Crossing the rope - red squirrel at Yorkshire Arboretum. Picture: Ben Paterson

“It was meant to be built by outside contractors but then the pandemic struck and costs rocketed,” says Ben, who researched whether the task could be carried out internally. “It was a challenge, but we did it.”

There’s a raised boardwalk giving visitors elevated views, feeding stations, and several information boards offering facts about the squirrels, including:
*Females are pregnant for just 38 days, giving birth to two or three kits each. The kits leave the nest, called a drey, aged about four weeks and are usually independent at 10 to 13 weeks old.
*Female squirrels give birth to their first litter aged between 12 and 14 months.
*Small ear tufts grow larger in winter - possibly for warmth - and sometimes disappear altogether in summer.

Ben’s enthusiasm for the small red animals is infectious.

“I’ve always been interested in them - one of my first assignments at university was on red squirrels,” he says.

As he accompanies us along the boardwalk, he is followed by two lesser white-fronted geese Tom Honks and Egg Ryan, who are among a number of waterfowl who coexist with the squirrels in the enclosure.

The enclosure floor is littered with empty nut shells. “For every one they eat, they bury four,” says Ben. 

The creatures are provided with large nest boxes but also construct their own dreys in the trees. Squirrels are not always out and about, but we were lucky enough to see three on our visit. 

In Britain the red squirrel was once a common sight but numbers have plummeted since grey squirrels were introduced into large country estates in the 1870s.

The UK population of reds has dropped from around 3.5 million to between 120,000 to 160,000, with the number in England thought to be as low as 20,000. The majority live in Scotland, with other strongholds in Wales, Northumberland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Lake District as well as the Isle of Wight and Brownsea Island, Dorset. 

Looking out of a nesting box. Picture: Ben Paterson

Ben stresses how vital the volunteers - who visit regularly to help  - are to the success of the project. “We would be lost without them.”

Leaving the enclosure, we meet two of them, Kevin and Belinda Randerson, on their way to feed the squirrels.
“We come every day and quite often feed them hazelnuts so that people can see them close up,” says Kevin. “They all have different characters - Holly is the self-declared top squirrel.”

If you are visiting, make sure you give yourself a good chunk of time: once you’ve seen the squirrels’ home, there’s the arboretum to explore.  Run by the Castle Howard Arboretum Trust in conjunction with Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, the 120 acre garden of trees from around the world includes woodland, a lake, ponds and meadow.

Lying within the Castle Howard Estate, it was created through the enthusiasm and partnership of George Howard - Lord Howard of Henderskelfe - and garden designer James Russell.

George had begun an arboretum in 1959, but rabbits killed most of the trees. It was not until after James had moved to Castle Howard in 1968 and created a woodland garden in Ray Wood - in the stately home’s grounds - that the arboretum again became a focus.

There’s so much to see. To give some idea, there’s 86 different types of oak tree and more than 7000 plants. Visitors can walk through different areas, from lakeside paths to grassy hillside and pine forest, all within a short distance from each other. 

For refreshment there’s a tea room where visitors can eat fare including home-made soup and delicious scones and cakes. They can also enjoy art exhibitions, with work available to buy.

Fact file
Yorkshire Arboretum, Castle Howard, York YO60 7BY

 yorkshirearboretum.org

 redsquirrels@yorkshirearboretum.org