E very October my family have an annual trip to Brownsea Island. We go in autumn because this is a good time to see the red squirrels. In the other seasons, they are high up, hidden in the trees. We catch the ferry from Poole Harbour, and we know we are close when we can see the castle come into view. When we arrive we’re greeted by nosy chickens and attention-seeking peacocks on the lawns.

We go behind the little church into the woods. It is a different world there. There is a mix of crunchy and soggy brown leaves on the ground and little mushrooms popping up from the earth. Some mushrooms are sprouting from rotting logs.

A video still of the red squirrel Tom encountered. Photograph: Family handout

The red squirrels scurry at high speed. If we are at a distance or very quiet then we get good views of them. We were lucky that they stopped right in front of us on a dead log to examine a nut. A beam of sunlight hit a squirrel giving its body a golden outline.…