Squirrels at the Feeder

I have been interested in flying squirrels ever since watching the Rocky and Bullwinkle show as a kid.  I did a little research and discovered  that there are 43 species of flying squirrels in the world. Most of these can be found in Asia, and only two (Northern and Southern) are native to the United States of America.

Flying squirrels are fascinating creatures and are distinct from their non-flying family members in several ways.  Let’s take a look at some interesting facts about flying squirrels!

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Sugar Gliders and Flying Squirrels are both cute little animals that are popular pets.  Sugar gliders looks remarkably similar to the flying squirrels found in the US but in reality, these two animals are extremely different.  Let’s take a quick look at the differences between these two species.

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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…]

Many people say that squirrels are basically rats that were handed a better deal in terms of cuteness.  While I agree that squirrels are much cuter than rats, the question remains, “How different are they?”  It turns out that rats and squirrels belong to completely different animal Families but they are related in that they are both Rodents.  Here is a look at some similarities and differences between these animals.

Squirrels and rats are distinct Families both belong to the largest Order of Mammals, Rodentia.  All Rodents have specialized teeth for gnawing that constantly are growing.  Both Families exhibit intelligence, problem solving and memory. Other than their teeth and mental capacities squirrels and rats have little in common in terms of behavior, life cycle and impact on humans.

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I love woodpeckers and have been delighted that we have started making and selling woodpecker feeders at The Squirrel Shop!

Here are a dozen wonderful bird feeders that your woodpeckers will love 🙂  The first few products are made by us at The Squirrel Shop but I included other options are well to make sure you had plenty to choose from!  All of the bird feeders listed have a reasonable price and are a great way to bring nature a little closer to your home.

Dual Compartment Deck Rail Feeder for Woodpeckers and Blue Jays

This is my absolute favorite bird feeder that keeps a steady stream of red headed and red bellied woodpeckers coming up to my house.

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There was a massive thunderstorm in Baton Rouge last week that brought me joy, terror and a BUNCH of questions.

The joy came from watching the new drainage system in our yard work perfectly!  We had a “dry creek bed” and some underground drainage pipe installed and the system does an amazing job of funneling the water out of the yard without washing away the sod.

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Have you ever been confused between a chipmunk and a squirrel? I know I have. This is especially in the case of certain types of ground squirrels that have a stripes that are similar to chipmunks. However, there are some notable differences between ground squirrels and chipmunks. Let’s take a look at what these are:

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