Red squirrels primarily eat seeds from plants and trees, but their diet can vary greatly throughout the year. Food is plentiful during the autumn and winter months when trees are rich with seeds and fungi are available. However, food can be scarcer during spring and summer, when their diet extends to include plant shoots, bulbs, flowers, wild fruits and berries, and even insects and occasionally bird eggs.
Supplementary feeding in boxes should include a good quality squirrel mix of hazlenuts (in shells), wheat, linseed, pine nuts, peanuts (limited), sunflower seeds and fruit or vegetables such as apples and carrots. Supplementary feeding should not take the place of natural food sources and only small amounts of food should be put out every 3-4 days. For more information go to RSNE information sheet
Graham Dunn, Dent