Are you sure you’re getting my best side? Red squirrel checks camera set-up as wildlife photographer tried to take his picture

• Cheeky rodent made presence known in Carnie Woods, Aberdeenshire
• It was pictured last week by amateur wildlife photographer Will Bird
• He had gone to his ‘favourite spot’ in hope of encountering the squirrels 

Because of their inability to compete with their grey counterparts, native red squirrels have become harder and harder to spot in the UK.

But one of the rare cheeky rodents was not afraid to make its presence known in Carnie Woods, Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

It was pictured last week by amateur wildlife photographer Will Bird as it played with one of his cameras, which was mounted on a tripod.

Mr Bird had gone to his ‘favourite spot’ on November 17 hoping to capture some of the furry rodents in their natural habitat. 

A cheeky red quirrel was not afraid to make its presence known in Carnie Woods, Aberdeenshire, Scotland

It was pictured last week by amateur wildlife photographer Will Bird as it played with one of his cameras, which was mounted on a tripod

Finding a quiet clearing where visitors put down seed and nuts for the birds and wildlife, the 47-year-old set up one of two cameras remotely next to a log to get a close up of the squirrels.

Positioning himself on another log out of sight, restaurant owner Will didn’t have to wait too long until the squirrels started to put on a show for him.

One particularly nosy animal was not sufficiently satisfied with being in front of the camera and instead walked behind the machine and clambered up the legs of its stand.

Rearing up on its back feet the squirrel held on to the camera with its front paws, and, with a nut wedged in its mouth, looked studiously at the back screen. 

 It was seen balancing on the legs of the tripod and using its front paws to hold the device while leaning upwards to peer through the viewfinder

Precarious: Another shot showed the squirrel using the the tripod to pull itself upwards 

Confused: In this shot, the squirrel looked slightly bewildered as it stood just behind the camera

Acrobatic: The squirrel is seen swinging on the leg of the tripod in the forest setting

In other hilarious shots, the mammal adopts numerous poses while staring directly towards the lens.

Mr Bird said: ‘I was absolutely delighted. I’ve never had them climbing a camera before so that was definitely a first for me.

‘Lo and behold, they’re such inquisitive creatures, instead of going in front of the camera, the squirrel climbed up behind it to see what it was all about.

‘It was only behind the camera for a few seconds at a time but he kept coming back. He kept climbing up and hanging off the tripod. 

The vain red squirrel wasn’t content just posing for photos but even climbed up the tripod to examine the camera

Mr Bird had gone to his ‘favourite spot’ of Carnie Woods to take pictures of the native squirrels in their natural habitat

Among the other brilliant snaps is one of the squirrel balancing on a log in front of the camera

Finding a quiet clearing where visitors put down seed and nuts for the birds and wildlife, the 47-year-old set up one of two cameras remotely next to a log to get a close up of the squirrels

‘This is a favourite spot of mine as it’s only 10 minutes from home. It’s a really nice clearing which attracts wildlife but is just a nice quiet place to relax too.

‘You can sit there for a long time and not see anything and then other times you can be surrounded by them.

‘They really amused me when they kept coming back. You can be looking in one direction trying to get a photo of them and they’ll be right behind you instead.’

One particularly nosy animal was not sufficiently satisfied with being in front of the camera and instead walking behind the machine and clambered up the legs of its stand

Mr Bird said: ‘I was absolutely delighted. I’ve never had them climbing a camera before so that was definitely a first for me’

Red squirrels have lived in the UK for around 10,000 years but have become increasingly under threat since their grey counterparts were introduced from North America by the Victorians in the 19th-Century. 

The two species cannot live together because grey squirrels compete more successfully for food and habitat. 

Not only are they larger and more robust, but they can digest a wide range of seeds more easily. 

This means that red squirrels are forced into other areas where they find it harder to survive. 

Grey squirrels also carry a squirrelpox virus which can kill reds. 

There are around 140,000 red squirrels left, mostly in Scotland, compared to 2.5 million grey squirrels. 

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