Learn About Chipmunks, Bats, Squirrels and Birds!
If you love watching cardinals at your bird feeder and he squirrels are driving you nuts then you might want to take some inspiration for my Ultimate Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder Setup for Cardinals.
This setup does cost a little bit on money to implement but I believe the final results are worth the investment.
Let’s take a closer look at what I have done.
If you’re like most people, you’ve undoubtedly heard of the flying squirrel. These fascinating creatures are much like other squirrels, except that they have the ability to glide through the air for short distances.
Still, although everyone knows what they are, how often do you really see one? This might lead you to ask the essential question: Are flying squirrels common?
Squirrels are amazingly agile and resilient creatures. They can climb to great heights, traverse the skinniest branches and leap almost 30 feet through the air. However, with all these acrobatics, the furry little daredevils do sometimes make a misstep and take a fall. Of course, for flying squirrels this isn’t an issue as they just spread their legs and glide effortlessly to the ground. However, can non-flying squirrels fall from great heights without getting hurt?
Terminal velocity is the term that describes the fastest possible speed an object can accelerate to due to various factors. In the case of a squirrel, those factors must be taken into account to calculate if a squirrel can survive a fall.
Due to the influence of popular culture, most people tend to think of chipmunks as small, cute, and harmless animals. After all, we’ve grown up with cartoon characters like Alvin (of “Alvin and the Chipmunks” fame) or Chip and Dale (from the old Disney cartoons of the same name).
In some ways, we have been conditioned to think of these creatures as gentle acorn-hunters who would never hurt anything. However, all is not as it seems. Let’s address the issue by answering a simple question: “Do chipmunks eat birds?”
Both squirrels and bats have been around for over 35 million years with bat-like flying mammals appearing approximately 15 million years before squirrels in the fossil records.
Both species evolved from just one part of ancient North America and spread to nearly all parts of the world. Bats and flying squirrels have some common characteristics with both being creatures of the night, eating many of the same foods and having the ability to soar through the air.
Both species also emit high pitched vocalizations and have been known to take up residences in the same areas, such as attics. Bats and flying squirrels also have some minor physical resemblances that can lead people to believe the two animals may be related.
So, with all these seeming similarities it raises the question, “Are flying squirrels and bats related?”
The quick answer is that flying squirrels and bats are related at the level of Class (Mammals) but are not related at the level of Order as flying squirrels are Rodents and bats are Chiroptera.
At first glance, the title of this article might seem to be rather silly. After all, squirrels and chipmunks are two different animals, right? Although that is technically true, things aren’t quite as simple as that.
It is actually quite easy to confuse ground squirrels with chipmunks, and many people have made this mistake. There isn’t a simple division between one and the other, however. The difference between these animals is mainly a matter of taxonomy: That is to say, it’s all in the names.
It is a widely held misconception that crows are scavengers and eat only carrion, however crows are omnivorous and very opportunistic. The birds feed on a wide array of plant and animal matter and will eat almost anything that is digestible that they can find, catch or kill. While they will readily eat carrion, crows also hunt insects, other birds, small mammals like mice and raid the nests of other birds, eating the eggs and young.
Large groups of crows, known as a “murder,” will hunt in packs like wolves and use superior numbers to literally swarm other birds in a technique called “mobbing.” The birds will also mob more efficient predators like hawks, owls and even eagles to steal a meal. Often times a murder of crows will actively look for a hawk, wait until it makes a kill and then swarm and harass the predator until it abandons its prey.
These aggressive hunting tactics and seeming lack of dietary concerns may raise the question, “Do crows eat squirrels?”
If you have owls and squirrels in your area, you may have wondered if owls frequently eat squirrels. It is obvious that an owl is capable of killing a squirrel, but are squirrels frequent prey for owls?
The answer to that question isn’t a simple one, as most of it comes down to the type of owls involved and the types of squirrels involved.
Any pet owner has a fundamental obligation to keep their animals safe from harm. Unfortunately, nature can throw all sorts of hazards at your pet, so it’s good to consider as many of them as possible.
Chipmunks certainly do not seem like threatening creatures, but some threats are less obvious than others. Although they are not a major hazard, chipmunks are potentially hazardous to your pets.
If you love feeding birds in your backyard, chances are you also have squirrels who are frequent visitors. When looking out your windows, you probably see plenty of gray squirrels and maybe even a few fox squirrels in the mix as well. Since they seem relatively friendly with one another, you may be curious as to whether these two species mate with each other now and then.
So, do fox squirrels and gray squirrels interbreed? The answer is, “Yes, fox and gray squirrels do interbreed which sometimes results in an interesting mutation.”
