Squirrel feeding signs - Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris)

The forest I'm currently surveying to the east of the Corrimoney Falls is primarily Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris) plantation which has not been thinned. Trees are close together with a herb layer of heath, bilberry, bracken and grasses, interspersed with areas of moss.

Red Squirrels are feeding both in the canopy and on the ground, but signs can be difficult to find where scales and cone remains drop within the herb layer.

At this time of year squirrels are feeding on green cones which are often torn apart in the canopy with the remains scattered over an area beneath the tree. Where fresh feeding is taking place over ground which supports the remains, the debris is easier to see, as shown in the next two images.

This is all canopy feeding but squirrels will also feed on the ground, sitting on a stump or moss mound and leaving a pile of torn or gnawed off scales around the cone remains.

The scales of older cones are gnawed off, leaving the cone's centre axis intact; whereas the greener, softer cones are usually torn apart from the base up, as shown above.

Pines can live for several hundred years and where one of these beautiful old trees has survived being suffocated by close planting, you'll find an area of bare ground, carpeted with pine needles, around the base of the tree. These old trees will be a regular feeding place when squirrels are present.

This last image shows a collection of cone remains.

Corrimoney RSPB Reserve - Survey update

I've just updated the survey map with records around the Corrimony Falls area.

The image on the left is looking down onto the main part of the falls from the top of the gorge.

Up river from the falls and on the left in the picture, a mix of birch, rowan and hazel grows on the steep sides of the gorge.

Here I found signs of squirrel split hazel cobs from last year which had been collected and carried to the top to be eaten.



Pine Marten scats (faeces or droppings) are frequent along trails paralleling the gorge and away into the forest.

At regularly used spots there are multiple droppings of different ages which act as territorial markers and messages to other Martens.

The forest to the east of the River Enrick is Scots Pine plantation with a herb layer of Bracken, Bilberry, Heath, Moss and grasses.

Scattered within this layer are the clues to Squirrel feeding activities that I'm looking for. It would be difficult to find anything which drops into the bottom of this low level jungle but fortunately squirrels like to sit on stumps, logs and moss mounds when ground feeding; and the more recent remains stay on the surface for some time before being hidden.

The image below shows the remains of a partially ripened scots pine cone which has been ripped apart to get at the seeds.

This next image shows the undamaged tops of two green cones which were dropped from the canopy after the squirrel removed the lower scales. I would imagine that the seeds were not fully developed and the squirrel gave up part way through to look for better cones.

Further down river on the northern boundary of the reserve stand some mature Norway Spruce, Larch and Douglas Fir.

The next image is of a partially consumed green Douglas Fir cone. I've only ever seen Douglas cones worked on when they're green and not when they're fully ripened. I don't know if there's a reason for this other than me not finding them.

Next is a Larch cone where the Squirrel removed the seeds without completely destroying the cone. This is due to the much softer scales which the squirrel can bend and tear back.

and finally, Norway Spruce cones where the scales are chewed off to get at the seed. These cones were worked on the ground as indicated by the close group of scales.