Brownsea Island

kingo15

kingo15

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Going to have a visit there in august. for those that have been how close can you get to the red squirrels?

would iget away with a 70-200 or do i need to take the 150-600 as well
 
kingo15 said:
Going to have a visit there in august. for those that have been how close can you get to the red squirrels?

would iget away with a 70-200 or do i need to take the 150-600 as well
Click to expand...

As far as recall, this time of the year they will come down to the ground as little food up in the canopy.

So, pack some hazelnuts....head for the mound behind the church, place some nuts in the branch & trunk nooks and crannies.........wait and they will come. When we went most nuts will get taken for caching but if lucky some Reds will stop and gnaw them open for a snack or three.

Lens wise I had my 100-400mm and I think I was using the full range.

NB if you sit with a nut in your open hand there may be one brave Red who approaches and takes it.

Enjoy, they are such delightful creatures.

PS your post reminds me that we wanted to go again :)

PPS just saw that you said August, not sure about the nuts as I think they will feeding on natural food high up in the canopy???
 
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Just re-checked my folders

It was in April 2016 that we had such good numbers on the ground.

Further later visits in 2017 ~ in July they were already mostly in the canopy and in September hardly saw sight of one.

Just my experience, others may be different???
 
Box Brownie said:
As far as recall, this time of the year they will come down to the ground as little food up in the canopy.

So, pack some hazelnuts....head for the mound behind the church, place some nuts in the branch & trunk nooks and crannies.........wait and they will come. When we went most nuts will get taken for caching but if lucky some Reds will stop and gnaw them open for a snack or three.

Lens wise I had my 100-400mm and I think I was using the full range.

NB if you sit with a nut in your open hand there may be one brave Red who approaches and takes it.

Enjoy, they are such delightful creatures.

PS your post reminds me that we wanted to go again :)

PPS just saw that you said August, not sure about the nuts as I think they will feeding on natural food high up in the canopy???
Click to expand...

Thanks for the great reply. I'll take some just in case then.

Hopefully I'll get to see some. Had a look on Flickr there were some on their during the summer months but it's the luck of the draw with wildlife
 
Always try where I advise first but there are some around the DWT (Dorset Wildlife Trust) lodge as they have bird feeders out and the Reds grab their share too. NB there is a £2 donation to access the DWT reserve but well worth it IMO.
 
I have not been to Brownsea but on similar sites I have used longer than 200mm. Light may not be great under the trees so a fast lens and/or good high ISO performance will help.

Not sure about feeding them, suggest the rules.

Whatever happens, enjoy them, they are delightful.
 
I personally would take something longer than a 70-200, a 100-400 or a 200-500 would be a good fit there.
 
Cheers for all the replies. Id of probably taken the full arsenal of lenses i have just in case haha
 
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