12 ACRES IN OHIO

Squirrels, the Cute Little Rodent

Besides our backyard bird feeders, Robin has scattered a few feeders in various “photogenic” spots around our property. She checks them every morning when she walks the dogs. Recently she has been doing some catalog photos for Duncraft, a leading supplier of wild bird feed and feeders, so she was really excited the morning she discovered that all of the Duncraft Peanut Butter “Miracle Mix” had been cleaned out of one of the feeders—she thought maybe the chickadees had finally found it! Hoping to get some photos she went back out with her camera only to discover a fat fox squirrel sitting up in the tree munching the tasty—and expensive—treat.

Squirrels are common, but we don’t see many of them up around our house—they seem to hang out more in the back where the trees are more mature. A few years ago we were entertained by a family of fox squirrels that spent a lot of time playing in our backyard and cleaning out the bird feeders… until one day a gray squirrel moved into the area and took over. The fox squirrel family left and never came back. Shortly after that, the gray squirrel disappeared, too.

Squirrels belong to the rodent family—notorious for gnawing—which also includes mice, rats, woodchucks, and chipmunks, among others. Ohio is home to four species of tree squirrels—the fox squirrel, the gray squirrel, the red squirrel, and the southern flying squirrel (that doesn’t really fly, but glides through the air on a thin flap of skin that stretches between its front and hind legs). The most common ones in our area are the fox squirrel and the gray squirrel—both of which are tree squirrels that spend as much—or more— of their time in the trees as on the ground. Both live in trees either in tree dens formed in hollow tree trunks or branches; or leaf nests constructed of leaves and twigs and built in the crotches of tree branches. They are normally active during the day and sleep at night. There are a few minor differences between the two species besides color. The gray squirrel is gray in color with a grayish-white or rusty belly; it is the smaller of the 2 squirrels, weighing about one pound. The fox squirrel is rusty-yellow to orange with a bright orange, burnt orange or pinkish orange belly. The fox squirrel is the largest of the tree squirrels—weighing between 1 and 3 pounds. Albino (white) and melanistic (black) squirrels may be found in either species.

Breeding periods for both are December to February and again in May to July, although usually only females 2 years old or older will have 2 litters a year. Litters consist of 2 to 5 babies, with 3 being the average. The young are born 44 days later, blind and totally helpless, relying entirely on their mother’s milk for the first 5 to 7 weeks. The male plays no part in rearing the young. Young squirrels typically stay with their mother until they are 14 or 15 weeks old.

Although both squirrels are found in urban settings, in the wild, the gray squirrel prefers more heavily forested areas, while the fox squirrel favors the smaller woodlots of the agricultural areas. Diet in the wild for both squirrels consists of nuts of hickory, oak, and beech; fruits of blackberry, dogwood and wild cherry; corn; buds of maple, elm, and willow; and insects. Diet in town consists of walnuts and peanuts at Robin’s mother’s house, and whatever other handouts they can beg from other humans (can YOU resist a cute little squirrel looking in the kitchen window with its nose pressed against the glass?), as well as tidbits they can scrounge for themselves.

And now, (drumroll…) the winners of the December 2010 Note Card Contest drawing…we decided to pick 3 winners instead of just 2. Each winner received a pack of 4 photo note cards. Congratulations to: Jean Brown, Barb Phillabaum, and Donna Steinbauer!

 Finally, did you guess that it was our Guinea fowl, “Keetie,”—and NOT the Grinch—who appeared on the December cover of Lifestyles? He was just a young bird—not quite a year old—when that photo was taken. (His Santa hat: courtesy of Robin and Photoshop). He’s been unbearable since it came out.

To contact us or to see more of Robin’s photos, log on to www.robinarnoldphotography.com.