Scurrying Squirrels
It’s a common sight in the fall - squirrels scurrying around preparing for the cold winter months ahead. You’ve probably seen them racing here and there gathering and hiding their food treasures. Squirrels belong to the Rodent family, a group of mammals which includes mice, rats, groundhogs, beavers, muskrats, prairie dogs, voles, capybara, lemmings and more. Their common characteristic is their continuously growing incisors, or front teeth, found in their upper and lower jaws. They need to continually chew on items, to keep their teeth from growing too long, and are able to chew into items like walnuts and trees that would cause our teeth to break. At Knoch Knolls Park, we commonly see two tree squirrel species and one ground squirrel – the chipmunk. Another native squirrel, the Southern Flying Squirrel, which is highly nocturnal, may live here too but we have not seen any. They tend to live in older growth forests found in forest preserves.
Eastern Gray Squirrels, Sciurus carolinensis, are a familiar squirrel in our parks and around our neighborhoods. They are gray above with white bellies. Some have more reddish-brown fur that others and there are even individuals that are all white or all black. A squirrel’s all-purpose, bushy tail serves as an umbrella, blanket and means to communicate with other squirrels. Since they don’t hibernate, they spend the summer months gathering and hiding seeds and nuts in different places throughout their territory. (During severe cold weather they will hunker down for a few days). This method of caching food, called scatter hoarding, results in some items being forgotten allowing new trees to grow. Their diet depends on the season, eating mostly plant material in the winter, but also eating fungi, insects and even bird eggs, if they find them. Although they would probably prefer a hole in a tree as shelter, tree squirrels build nests out of leaves, called dreys, which are easiest to spot in the winter months.
The Eastern Fox Squirrel, Sciurus niger, at nearly twice the size of the gray squirrel, is the largest species of tree squirrel native to North America. Named for their gray and red fur that resembles our native gray fox, they tend to have highly variable coloration depending on where they live, but all have some black on their heads and reddish bellies and tails. Found statewide, they live in forests, woodlands, and our neighborhoods. Most active in the early morning and late afternoon, they can be seen collecting and hiding food, just like the gray squirrels, for the snowy and cold winter months ahead.
Our Eastern Chipmunk, Tamias striatus, technically a type of ground squirrel, will often climb trees but spends most of its time on the forest floor (or in your yard), and underground. Easily recognized by its reddish-brown fur, back stripes, white stripes around their eyes and white bellies, these tiny squirrels are feisty and vocal! They got their name for the high-speed “chip chip” trill they make anytime their territory is trespassed and are often mistaken for birds. Although not true hibernators, like groundhogs, they do spend most of the winter sleeping in their underground burrows. After stuffing food items into their mouth and extendable check pouches, they stash this food in one area of their extensive underground burrows and wake periodically throughout the winter to eat and use the latrine, located in a separate area. Like other squirrels, chipmunks eat a lot of plant matter but will also eat fungi (mushrooms), and insects.
Southern Flying Squirrels, Glaucomys Volans, are one of two flying squirrel species found in North America. They are rarely seen due to their highly nocturnal, tree top existence. They glide instead of fly, with a special membrane between their front and hind feet, and flattened rudder-like tail. Amazingly, they can cover over 150 feet in a single glide. (Base jumpers and skydivers created their suits to mimic the flying squirrel!) They have white bellies and big eyes for seeing in the dark. They are also omnivores, eating both plants and some animal material and occasionally visit bird feeders in the middle of the night.
