Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

REBECCA BAIRD: Balgay red squirrel is Dundee’s best kept secret

A surprising sighting of a rare red squirrel has given Rebecca a new mission on her morning walks.

Red squirrels are native to Scotland, but are rare to spot. Image: DC Thomson.
Red squirrels are native to Scotland, but are rare to spot. Image: DC Thomson.

Dundee never fails to surprise me.

Some days, it can feel like the city never changes.

Reliable fixtures like Fast Eddie fastened to the Overgate steps, fading graffitied daisies on west end walls, and the slow-moving silvery Tay can make it seem like after eight years, I’ve seen all there is to see.

And I’ll worry now and then that Dundee’s all out of tricks.

Of course, every time I think this, the place proves me wrong.

This week, I decided to start my mornings with what we in the business of being mental call ‘a stupid little walk for my stupid mental health’.

As the darker days are drawing in, I know I’ll start getting blue soon, so I’ve been making a concerted effort to catch some morning sunlight to stave off the SAD.

Mostly this has meant tramping up to Balgay before starting my day.

There, the same old wonders wait for me as well – the beautiful blue bridge and gazebo, a thousands of lives scrawled on stone in the cemetery, the huge eye of the observatory staring up at the stars.

It’s all a feast for the eyes, but my eyes were getting full up – until I spied something the other day that I’d never ever seen before.

‘He couldn’t have been bigger than a posh teacup’

As I rounded one of the many twisting cemetery paths, I saw him crouched under a dying rhododendron, tufty wee ears turned to hear me coming.

A tiny, breathtakingly bright baby red squirrel.

I literally stopped in my tracks. I didn’t dare breathe, much less move enough to snap a photo.

I couldn’t believe my eyes; I’ve never seen a red squirrel in real life, never mind in the middle of an urban landscape.

Balgay’s famous blue bridge is a sight for sore eyes this autumn. Image: Rebecca Baird.
The baby red squirrel was spotted at Balgay Cemetery moments after this photo was taken. Image: Rebecca Baird.

It sounds daft, but I can’t believe how red it was, like a match flame with legs.

The wee guy – he really couldn’t have been bigger than a posh teacup – froze too, looking up at me in horror as he assessed whether or not I was a danger.

And after a momentary pause, he leapt into action and scampered back into the undergrowth.

It was pretty flippin’ magical. And also hard to explain.

Red squirrels are rare thanks to invasive greys

As far as I can tell, there’s no documented red squirrel population in Balgay Park, though there is one on the outskirts of Dundee.

That makes sense to me, considering the number of grey squirrels I’ve watched bounding across the paths and up the trees at Balgay on my walks.

Adorable as they are, grey squirrels are an invasive species who carry a disease which kills the native reds.

That’s why they’ve been culled in areas north of Montrose.

The UK Squirrel Accord, a nationwide partnership looking to secure the future of the animal, estimates that there are around 140,000 red squirrels in the UK. Image: Danny Lawson/PA Wire.
Grey squirrels are an invasive non-native species – but they’re still awfully cute. Image: DC Thomson.

In Balgay, greys run the show, so I would never expect to see a lone baby red. It’s a puzzle how he got there in the first place, and how he’s survived this long.

But I’m rooting for him.

Every time I’ve been back, I’ve looked for him. And although I haven’t seen him again, I like to think he’ll make it, by some miracle of Dundee magic.

If nothing else, he’s reminded me that even when you feel like the city’s rat race makes life feel like Groundhog Day, there’s always the chance you’ll come across some rarer rodent.

Conversation