It’s in your nature: Our squirrels

Technically, Pennsylvania hosts five species of squirrels: the gray, red, fox and eastern and northern flying squirrels. Fox squirrels are a western Pennsylvania species, and little data supports that the northern flying squirrels can be found in the Times News circulation area. Most are quite familiar with the gray squirrel, which has adapted quite well to the forests or city parks.

The gray squirrel is the largest of this region’s squirrels and has a black color phase. Those who have fished some Canadian lakes probably have seen some. In Pennsylvania, the black phase seems to be limited to the north-central counties.

About five years ago I observed a “black” squirrel in Franklin Township for two consecutive autumns, and it is the only one I’ve seen locally.

“Grays” breed in late winter and generally raise their young in a hollowed-out tree trunk, or sometimes in one of my screech owl boxes. They often have a second litter later in summer, raising eight to 10 young each year. Most predation occurs when squirrels are young and not as adept at escaping.

I also believe that the squirrel’s thick fur discourages hawks from catching them. I believe they are just too darn hard to skin and eat. (Hawks pluck the fur or feathers before eating their prey.) Great horned owls will eat them without pulling off fur, but owls feed little in daylight when the “grays” are active. I have watched “red tails” ignore squirrels feeding in the open.

Gray squirrels feed on acorns, fruits, nuts and occasionally bird eggs. In spring they relish tree buds. As you probably know, as fall approaches, they cache away extra acorns or nuts by burying them one at a time and then in winter dig them up. They never find them all, so in a sense they help plant some future oaks, hickories or walnuts.

Red squirrels are about half the size of a “gray” but with twice the spunk and energy. The red squirrels seem to be dashing from tree to tree or hustling up a tree trunk to cut down more pine cones or acorns. “Reds” prefer forests with more conifers, and I have seen fewer in the past 20 years. I believe the devastation of the hemlock groves by the woolly adelgid may be the cause. “Reds” feed more on cones and leave a telltale pile of cone parts on a stump. They, too, cache away food for the winter, but can store sometimes a gallon or more of nuts in a hollowed-out trunk rather than bury them. Hunters and stump sitters have probably watched red squirrels chase “grays” from their territory. Even though bigger, the “grays” vacate the area after the wild chase. I have found “reds” to be more vocal, too.

The other squirrel is the eastern flying squirrel. They are more common than expected and probably seldom seen. If you drive a back road at night, you may have noticed something “fly” across in front of your car but it didn’t look like a bird. They are strictly nocturnal and about 5½ inches with a 4-inch tail. They cannot fly, but glide surprisingly well between trees, using loose skin between the fore and hind legs and its flexible, flattened tail as a rudder.

I have trail cam photos of them and have chased them from a hollow trunk or two when they didn’t like my hammering on the trunk. They are the “cutest” of the squirrels with their huge, dark eyes. In you live in a rural area and have bird feeders, they probably are feasting on your seeds at night. Over the years, I found two unfortunate ones drowned in a rain barrel used for catching my garden water. Night prowling cats, owls and foxes are their chief predators.

Test Your Outdoor Knowledge: Cottontail rabbits’ life span is _____ years. A. 1, B. 2, C. 5, D. 10.

Last Week’s Trivia: Banded woolly bears’ dark band size indicates how soon they are to finding a winter hiding place.

Contact Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com.