The story of the native red squirrel being out-competed and displaced by the invasive grey squirrel is well-known. The red squirrel has survived in relatively remote rural forests, including in the Tywi valley and is rarely seen and recorded. To know how best to manage grey squirrels and conserve red squirrels, information on their numbers and locations is needed.
Unbated, motion-activated camera traps are a relatively non-invasive method of recording red and grey squirrel numbers. Many other mammals, such as deer, foxes, badgers, and even pine martens may be recorded on the cameras as well as birds, however, and the volume of video clips is high. The Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales needs your help to analyse the clips and tell them what has been captured – who knows what you will see!