Photographer snaps squirrels from new hide (From York Press)

Photographer snaps squirrels from new hide

9:19am Wednesday 4th January 2012 in News

THEY may be famous for being rare and elusive, but now there’s a chance to get up close to red squirrels in a unique woodland hide.

Simon Philpotts, a professional wildlife photographer, built the hide in remote woodland near Hawes, in the Yorkshire Dales, one of the last strongholds for red squirrels in England.

Mr Philpotts, who lives near Leyburn, opened the hide to photographers and wildlife watchers for private sessions this month and also plans to use it for tutorial sessions for amateur photographers.

The hide has already proved popular, with several groups preparing to visit the site after Christmas.

Mr Philpotts said: “I used to have to go to Scotland if I wanted to photograph red squirrels because there just weren’t the facilities to do it around here. A couple of years ago I started looking for a place where I could build a hide and eventually found a place in the woods that had been badly damaged in a storm.

“I tidied it up and planted some new trees and built the hide with the help of my family.

“It is the only one of its kind in England, and one of very few in Britain, so it’s great for people who live locally instead of having to make a ten-hour round trip to Scotland.

“Most people who come to the Yorkshire Dales are not even aware that we have red squirrels but they seem to be thriving up there at the moment.”

As well as the red squirrels, the woodlands around Hawes are also home to roe deer, stoats, woodpeckers and other small birds and mammals.

The red squirrels have found a stronghold in Hawes because of a large number of conifer forests in the area that suit their feeding habits but which are not suitable for the grey squirrels which carry the squirrelpox virus deadly to the reds.

For more information on the hide, which must be booked in advance for private sessions, visit wilddales.co.uk or phone 01969 663000.