Changing coats for summer is something us humans do. The bigger, warmer coats for the winter months are replaced by lighter versions. In the animal kingdom, many species also change their winter coat to a lighter, usually more vibrant, summer coat. Noticeable at the moment (I am writing this in late May), are the red deer and also the red squirrels.
Changing coats for summer is important for wildlife
Getting ready for summer by changing your outer coat is a very noticeable seasonal transformation for our native red squirrels. Many of them are looking scruffy, and patchy. I photographed one of our regular garden visitors earlier today, and just look at the uneven fur. The patchwork coat looks like an unfinished project. While this process is happening, it helps identify us the squirrels. We have 3 or 4 coming in to the garden to feed, and is can be tricky to tell them apart. However, during this moulting season, they all look so different.
Photographs were taken on a smart phone of our regular garden red squirrels. They come into the garden to feed, usually on Hazelnuts, peanuts and seeds from the bird table.
