Learn About Chipmunks, Bats, Squirrels and Birds!
When I first started writing these squirrel articles I kept getting confused when I was reading about red squirrels. I was seeing contradictory information about these things and was having a hard time understanding why some people are highly passionate about them.
And then I figured it out.
It turns out that there are three different types of squirrels that are commonly referred to as “Red Squirrels” and there are significant differences between them. [Read more…]
My parents came for a visit a few weeks back and my Mom made a batch of refrigerator dill pickles that were pretty dang tasty. The pickles looked like they were pretty easy to make and it got the gears turning in my head about what would be some other fun stuff to pickle.
I went with mushrooms!
If your yard is often visited by squirrels, then you may have encountered these furballs quite a bit. But have you ever wondered which type of squirrel you’re playing host to? This may come as a surprise to you, but there are 269 species of squirrels in the world!
Of course, if you try and learn about each type, then it can become confusing really quickly. Some basic differences can help narrow things down though. For instance, if your squirrel appears to live in trees, then these are tree squirrels. If they spend their time on the ground instead, then you have a ground squirrel for company.
When people are trying to learn about squirrels they often get confused by all of the different names. A squirrel will often have multiple common names and those names will often overlap with the common names of other species of squirrels. For example, in the US there are three distinct species of tree squirrels that are called “Gray Squirrels” (Eastern, Western and Arizona).
Another point of confusion is that the squirrel family encompasses many more creatures than just the common tree squirrels that we see in our backyards. It turns out that creatures as diverse as chipmunks and groundhogs are also technically considered to be squirrels!
After you sort through all of the confusion and add up all of the different types of squirrels in the world you will find that there are 289 different species!
Squirrels have an admirable level of resistance against cold weather and some species survive in sub-degree weather. But how do they do this? How do their bodies respond as the temperature drops? Do they rely on layers of fat like most other mammals for warmth or are there other ways that allow them to survive?
As per the usual, my curiosity got the better of me and I ended up reading about how do squirrels survive in winter. Here’s what I found:
The red headed woodpecker is one of my absolute favorite birds. I think I like them so much because they are the perfect combination of stunning beauty with a bad attitude that guys find irresistible.
Red headed woodpeckers are interesting in that they always attract tremendous attention from bird watchers but not much is actually known about them. I did a little research and came up with some interesting facts and observations about these beautiful birds.
My wife and I recently took a trip to Las Vegas to celebrate a friend’s 50th birthday. Vegas was a hoot but we also took some time to skip out of town and do a little hiking in some nearby state parks. My wife had a great time hiking the trails…I had a great time looking for squirrels!
My yard is full of Eastern grey squirrels, so when I heard movement and scratching in the attic late one night, my first thought was – could it be a squirrel? I mean as interesting as I find them, I don’t want these guys living in my house! So anyway, long story short, it wasn’t a squirrel that I heard. It was rats.
That really sucked but is another story.
That whole adventure got me wondering about what squirrels do in the evening. The big question of course was, “Are squirrels nocturnal?” I did a little research and this is what I learned.
Jumping and climbing are the two most commonly associated behaviors with a squirrel. They are quick creatures that will scurry away as soon as you try to approach them. I once saw a squirrel jump at least 4 feet from the ground.
Since I’m not exactly the most athletic person around, the effortless acrobatics from that squirrel definitely left quite an impression on me. I decided to find out a little more about a squirrel’s jumping ability and here’s what I found:
The Eastern gray squirrel, the most common squirrel in the United States, can jump four feet in the vertical direction. That’s basically the height of an average 7-year-old child. When jumping horizontally, squirrels can cover a distance of 9 feet. The incredible jumping ability of a squirrel is enabled by over sized back legs, double jointed ankles and sharp claws.
Whether you think of squirrels as cute fur balls that chase each other across treetops or pests that occasionally invade your attic and chew their way through everything, squirrels are very interesting creatures. My personal fascination with squirrels is old news of course. So when I was reading about how animals see differently from humans, the first question that popped into my head was whether squirrels have good eyesight? Here’s what I found:
Yes, squirrels have excellent vision in the daylight. In fact, compared to other rodents, they fare extremely well in the vision department. Squirrels have great focal eyesight and their peripheral vision is equally sharp. This means that squirrels can see what is next to them or above them without having to move their heads. This helps a squirrel stay alert to changes in its environment, making it easier to detect predators. Squirrels have a hard time seeing in dark, night time conditions.
