“I watched a red squirrel dig through frozen ground for an hour and find nothing.” — Why a 72-year-old Speyside whisky cooper is letting his last squirrel feeders go at a special price, before another Highland winter sets in.

The Hour Fergus Can’t Forget

It was a morning in late February. The ground behind Fergus Munro’s cottage was frozen hard. A red squirrel was digging at the foot of the old Scots pine.

She dug in one spot. Then another. Then another. Fergus stood at his kitchen window with his tea and watched her for almost an hour.

“She knew she’d hidden hazelnuts there in October,” he says. “But there was nothing left. Not one. In the end she just sat in the snow with her tail over her back.”

Most people never see this. A red squirrel looks so lively in summer. But it does not sleep through winter. It has to find food every single day. And the end of winter is the hardest time of the whole year.

Why February Is Decided in October

In autumn, a red squirrel hides hazelnuts and seeds all over the woods. That is its only savings for the winter. By February, most of it is eaten, taken or lost under ice. The first fresh buds don’t come until spring.

But here is what most people get wrong: the hard months are not decided in February. They are decided right now. In autumn, squirrels learn where the food is. They make their rounds and remember every spot that stays full.

“Hang a feeder in February and you’re too late,” Fergus says. “The reds at my window in February are the ones that found my barrel in October.”

Red squirrels have had a hard hundred years. Grey squirrels were brought over from America in Victorian times. They are bigger, they eat the same food, and they carry a virus called squirrelpox that the reds cannot fight off. Today the reds hold on mostly in the north.

“When I was a boy, you saw reds on every road through Speyside,” Fergus says. “Now folk stop the car to take a photo.”

And That’s Why They End Up in Your Bird Feeder

A hungry squirrel will go wherever the food is. In most gardens, that means the bird feeder. People try greased poles, cages and chilli seed. Nothing works for long.

“A squirrel doesn’t raid your bird feeder because it’s greedy,” Fergus says. “It raids it because nobody gave it a table of its own.”

A Man Who Mended 100,000 Whisky Casks

Fergus Munro spent 41 years as a cooper on Speyside, the heart of Scotland’s whisky country. A cooper is a barrel maker. Every day, he fitted oak staves and drove iron hoops onto casks for the distilleries along the River Spey. He reckons about 100,000 of them went through his hands.

When he retired, his wife Moira had one wish. She wanted the squirrels out of her bird feeder. So Fergus bought a plastic squirrel box at the garden centre in Elgin. Six weeks later, the reds had chewed right through the lid.

So he did. A small round cask, just like the big ones, with a roof on top and a clear window in the front. He fixed it to the old pine, three metres from Moira’s bird feeder. Within a week, the reds had moved over to the barrel. And the birds got their feeder back.

Within a Week, the Birds Had Their Feeder Back

What Makes Fergus’s Barrel Different

A shop-bought squirrel box is a square crate. Fergus builds his the way he built casks for 41 years:

The Red Squirrel He Calls “the Laird”

Every morning at half six, Fergus stands at the kitchen window with his tea. He counts the reds at the barrel. Some mornings there are two. Some mornings there are five.

One of them is a big red with only one ear tuft left. He has come every winter for five years. He acts as if he owns the garden. So Fergus calls him “the Laird”.

“If the Laird’s not there in the morning, my tea goes cold,” he says, and laughs. “Moira says I fuss over that squirrel more than over her.”

The Day His Hands Said No

Building a cask takes strong wrists. The staves have to be held tight while the hoops go on. For 41 years, that was never a problem for Fergus.

Now the arthritis has settled in both of his wrists. Some mornings he can’t lift the hammer at all.

“A cask that isn’t tight is firewood,” he says quietly. “I won’t sell a barrel I’m not proud of. So I’m done.”

For the last few winters, Fergus built more barrels than he gave away. They stacked up on the shelves in his shed. Last week there were 190. Since this story first ran, they have been going fast.

“The Last Ones Are for the Reds”

A hand-built barrel like this would sell for well over £90 at a craft fair. Fergus’s granddaughter Isla told him so. He didn’t want to hear it.

“I made casks for whisky my whole life,” he says. “The last ones are for the reds. I don’t need the money. I want them on trees before the first frost, while the squirrels are still out looking.”

Ready in Five Minutes

• 1Hang itScrew it to a tree, a fence or a post. Screws and wall plugs are in the box.
• 2Fill itLift the lid and pour in hazelnuts, sunflower seeds or a few peanuts in their shells.
• 3Keep it cleanOnce a week, open the lid and give it a wipe. Isla puts a little card in every box that explains how.

What Readers Say About Fergus’s Barrels

• ★★★★★

  “For three winters the squirrels emptied my bird feeder every single day. I put Fergus’s barrel on the birch three metres away, and they switched over in four days. The goldfinches are back.”

  – Margaret D., Grantown-on-Spey
• ★★★★★

  “My granddaughter stands at the window every morning in her pyjamas and gives them names. Best money I’ve spent all year.”

  – Alan F., Perth
• ★★★★★

  “Solid wood, and you can tell a craftsman made it. The lid is the best bit. I top it up in my slippers.”

  – Sheila M., Hexham, Northumberland

Questions Readers Ask

Where can I buy one of Fergus’s barrels?

Only through this page. Isla set up the shop just for Fergus’s last barrels. They are not sold on Amazon or in any shop.

How long will they be available?

Only as long as the barrels in his shed last. Right now there are 137 left, and they are going fast. When they are gone, Fergus will not build more.

Can I wait until winter to hang it?

Fergus says no. Squirrels learn their food spots in autumn. A barrel that goes up now becomes part of their daily round before the snow comes. One hung in February often sits empty for weeks.

What if it’s not right for me?

You have 30 days to send it back for a full refund. Just send a short email. No questions asked.

More From Readers

• ★★★★★

  “We had a hard frost in January. Every morning there were two or three reds at the barrel. I kept thinking about the story of the squirrel digging in the snow.”

  – Fiona R., Inverness
• ★★★★★

  “I bought two, one for us and one for my sister in Dumfries. It came well packed, and it went up on the larch in ten minutes.”

  – Brian K., Aviemore
• ★★★★★

  “A real Speyside cooper building wee casks for red squirrels. You couldn’t make it up. Ours has a big red with a scruffy ear that looks just like his Laird.”

  – Pauline W., Kendal, Cumbria