Things are Squirrely Here!

File photo of a flying squirrel carrier landing.

"Rocky" our Flying Squirrel at the Feeder

As mentioned in a previous post, one night not too long ago Catherine spotted a flying squirrel on one of our bird feeders . We only got a glimpse before the squirrel "flew" off. That's a fib because flying squirrels don't actually fly. They can, however, glide from tree to tree because a flap of skin stretches between each of their front and back legs. (See the photo above that I stole from another web site.) Even our regular red squirrels can glide to some extent. They regularly jump off the deck to a tree or onto the ground dozens of feet below. Last night our flying squirrel showed up again and he was much less skittish this time around. Although Catherine was in bed, I was able to get right up to the window and get a good look as well as taking several professional quality pictures (see above). Rocky, as I've named him (some of you will get the reference), didn't seem to mind the attention at all. Rocky only seems interested in the feeders hanging under the eaves of the house. That may be because under the eaves he feels protected from Barry the Barred Owl. Apparently owls are flying squirrels greatest enemies. So we've got at least one resident flying squirrel living near the house. Now if Bullwinkle will just show up.
In other squirrel news, Nella our dog caught and killed one of our numerous red squirrels just yesterday. This is the second time she has managed to snag a squirrel as it tried to escape off the deck after gorging at one of the bird feeders. The first time the squirrel was caught but escaped when Nella was distracted for a moment. No such luck for the squirrel this time. Catherine gave it a proper burial by throwing it over the fence into the woods.