Suspected Squirrelpox outbreak at Bowhill

Pox virus suspected at Bowhill

We start this Blog with some very disturbing news. Many of you will have read on the BBC News Website that we were called out to a suspected case of Squirrelpox at Bowhill Estate last week.

This is the suspected case of Squirrelpox at Bowhill last week.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy8wj842753o

Bill Ferguson, who most of you will know, was interviewed by the BBC and we ask you to heed his advice...

"Because very little is being done around Edinburgh and Glasgow we have invasive greys coming down from the central belt, putting the red squirrel population in the south of Scotland under threat.

"We would ask everyone to do their bit by taking down bird feeders or anything else in their gardens where grey and red squirrels could congregate.

"There doesn't have to be any interaction between them but if a grey has been on someone's feeder and 10 minutes later a red comes along, they can pick up the virus."

And, as we all know, a Red Squirrel that has contracted the disease will be dead within 10-15 days.

If you suspect a case then please get in touch with us immediately and we can take the necessary measures to investigate. Email us at bordersredsquirrels@gmail.com

And now for some good news

CBRSN are to be presented to King Charles III when he visits Jedburgh on Thursday 2nd July. Jan Ferguson is sharing a stand with Emma Tennant and they'll be open for business once the King has been through.

King Charles III in Selkirk in 2023

The link below describes the day in full, in case you'd like to attend. And as you know he is patron of the Red Squirrel Survival Trust and is passionate about the cause.

https://www.scotborders.gov.uk/news/article/4971/jedburgh-prepares-to-welcome-his-majesty-the-king

Jan is polishing off her best Geordie accent and practising coming back up after a very deep curtsy!

Latest news from CBRSN and a job opportunity

Bill Ferguson - Volunteer of the Year

We are delighted to report that, at our recent AGM, our very own Grey Squirrel Control Officer and CBRSN co-founder, Bill Ferguson was awarded "Volunteer of the Year" by the Red Squirrel Survival Trust.

Bill Ferguson being presented with the Volunteer of the Year award by RSST's Mark Henderson

Everyone at CBRSN managed to keep the award secret right up until the point when Mark Henderson stood up and explained his presence at our AGM.

In his acceptance address, Bill thanked his team of volunteer trappers, without who he cannot do his work which, incidentally, he doesn't get paid for.

Spring Survey almost complete

With many thanks to all of our volunteers, our Spring Survey 2026 is almost complete. Some new volunteers have stepped-in to help out this year as we are now being asked to cover more sample sites and we've lost some of our previous contributors.

As soon as we receive the full results, we'll let you all know.

SSRS are recruiting

Saving Scotland's Red Squirrels are hiring a "Grey Squirrel Control Officer". It is a paid post and will run until 31st March 2028. With a salary of £25,095, this post will be based in and around Dalbeattie, with flexible working throughout South West Scotland.

View Job Advert here

So, if you or anyone you know may be interested, then please share the above link. They have until 7th June 2026 to make contact with SSRS.

Spring Survey 2026 begins on 1st March

You may remember us launching the 2025 Spring Survey around this time last year and we are once again looking for volunteers to help out with this vital "citizen science" project.

The Spring Survey runs across the north of England and Southern Scotland and is coordinated by the "Red Squirrel Recovery Network" - a five year Heritage Lottery fund-supported project to map the red and greys and to conduct research into how we may deal with the encroaching greys.

The annual Spring Survey will build up a picture of red and grey populations over time to aid in this research and runs from 1st March through to 31st May.

Feeder box and trail camera set-up

CBRSN has been allocated fifteen survey areas, up from last year's eleven. This is because we, as a group, cover the largest area of any in the south of Scotland, but with a massive amount of help from you, our members, we also managed to get the job done quickly and efficiently in 2025.

We have fifteen tetrads to do this year

Each survey area is called a "tetrad", which is a 2kmx2km box, split into four 1kmx1km "monads", labelled NE,NW,SE,SW. We have to pick two survey locations per tetrad, and each must be in a different monad (see below)...

An example of where we might set up monitoring

We put up a squirrel feeder and a trail camera, leave it there for 14 days, after which we take it all down and analyse the photos captured by the camera. We then record the maximum number of each species at the feeder at any one time. We then do it all again at the other site.

We have already emailed everyone who helped us out in 2025, but are still looking for volunteers for the remaining locations. Full training will be given and you'll get all the kit necessary. All we ask is for your time, which shouldn't involve more than an of hour in total per site (setting up and taking down).

If you think you may be able to help, please visit our dedicated Spring Survey web page, where you can click on the tetrad nearest you, follow the link to a dedicated page on our website and fill in the volunteer form.

Click here to read more

Thank you in advance and we look forward to hearing from you.

Jan Ferguson & Nigel Lorriman

Spring Survey 2026 coordinators