5/30/2023 0 Comments Pine squirrel![]() ![]() (Red squirrels disperse away from their mother’s territory in their first year, as they reach adulthood.) That has allowed red squirrels to expand their range in the mid-west, where forests often are fragmented into small woodlots among agricultural lands. The first is that red squirrels apparently are better than gray squirrels at dispersing into fragmented forest habitat. Still, why are there so many red squirrels in our deciduous forests? At least two factors seem to be at work. So, red squirrels chew scrapes in trunks to let the sap run onto the tree surface, then return a day or so later, after the water has evaporated to concentrate the sugar. However, maple sap is highly dilute a squirrel would need to consume many gallons of fresh sap to satisfy its daily energy requirements. That is, they tap sugar maples for their sap. Red squirrels also have another clever dietary trick. However, even in evergreen forests, red squirrels add other elements to their diet, including sprigs of trees like willows, various fruits and berries, and fungi. In those habitats, they specialize in eating conifer seeds, especially favoring spruce. (In a well-publicized 2021 incident, a North Dakota man discovered that a red squirrel had stashed 42 gallons of black walnuts inside his vehicle.)Īs noted above, red squirrels are strongly associated with coniferous forests. They collect food during the autumn and stash it in a collective location called a midden, which may contain hundreds or even thousands of pine cones or nuts. Unlike gray squirrels, which bury seeds and nuts in scattered locations, red squirrels are hoarders. And to meet their energy and nutritional needs through the winter, they store food. Instead, they build leaf-lined nests where they can stay warm during cold winter nights. Red squirrels announce their presence with loud chatter, and they avidly chase gray squirrels out of their territory. And they are famously feisty, even aggressive. They are fast and acrobatic, so it can be a challenge to follow one as it scampers through the trees. Red squirrels have recognizable behavior too. And they have white “spectacles” that highlight big black eyes. The fur on their back and tail is a beautiful orange-chestnut color that contrasts with a white belly. They are noticeably smaller than the common gray squirrels, just a little bit larger than chipmunks. According to Wikipedia, red squirrels are one of three species known as “pine squirrels,” and they are “widely distributed across North America wherever conifers are common.” So, what are they doing in the mostly deciduous woods of Centerville parks? All winter long, the woods have been full of American red squirrels, Tamiasciurus hudsonicus. ![]()
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