Granada Nature

A pair of red squirrels have been captured during a photography shoot in Formby in Merseyside.

Wildlife photographers Peter Smith and Roy Rimmer only left the camera for a couple of minutes before the creatures moved in for close-up of their own.

Alan Wright, of the Wildlife Trust, said it was good to draw attention to the plight of the red squirrel, which has been in serious decline in Britain since the introduction of the grey squirrel as they compete for food and habitat.

He added: "The exciting news is that this native squirrel is battling back and now spreading eastwards into areas of West Lancashire and Greater Manchester."

Towards the end of May, seven blue tits hatched inside a bird box in the Granada garden.

Sadly, we think six of them died, but this week we watched the remaining fledgling fly the nest for the first time.

Here is some speeded up footage showing the blue tits' story so far.

Fred installed a bird box with a camera on the roof garden a few months ago. It's now home to a family of tits and is producing some lovely shots.

The two remaining Granada blue tit chicks have survived the night. One of them is beginning to develop the yellow chest plumage of a juvenile bird. When they fly the nest, they will be a mix of grey and yellow, the blue colouring not developing until later.