Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
other avian goodies has had a major and largely unintended effect in helping gray squirrels expand both
their numbers and range in areas where nuts are scarce or almost nonexistent.
Squirrels—both red and gray—at feeders are extremely controversial. Humans who provide and
stock feeders divide neatly into two camps: those who loathe squirrels and those who enjoy them. My
wife and I are among the latter.
Those who detest squirrels at their feeders will go to almost any lengths to defeat them. Businesses
are built on the manufacture and sale of “squirrel-proof” feeders (some more successful than others),
and at least one topic has been written on the subject. On the other side, there is an organization for
squirrel lovers.
Without question, squirrels consume an awful lot of birdseed, creating an added expense that the
homeowner may not want. It's also undeniable that squirrels are astoundingly clever at circumventing
obstacles designed to keep them out of feeders. It's a little like trying to pick a lock: it can be done,
but not easily! Thus, some people regard squirrels as unwanted, expensive nuisances and take umbrage
when the squirrels defeat their anti-squirrel efforts.
On the other hand, many people enjoy the antics of squirrels as much as they appreciate the beauty
and variety of the birds attracted to their feeders. To them, the extra seed consumed is a small price
to pay for the double pleasure of observing both birds and squirrels. Ultimately it's a highly personal
decision, and there's room in the world for both squirrel haters and squirrel lovers.
The actual eating habits of the two species are as different as their principal food sources. Gray squir-
rels eat nuts pretty much where they find them— here, there, and everywhere. Reds, on the other hand,
have favorite feeding places, frequently on stumps or a fallen log. There, huge middens of cone scales
build up, as revealing of the squirrel's presence and habits as are the kitchen middens of human origin,
so eagerly sought by archaeologists. Such squirrel middens will commonly fill a bushel basket or more.
Watching a red squirrel shuck a cone to get at the seeds is an edifying experience nearly as humorous
as watching it transport the cone. Holding the cone in its front paws, the squirrel gnaws with astonish-
ing rapidity, cone scales flying in every direction. Simultaneously, the front paws rotate the cone in a
manner highly reminiscent of a human eating corn on the cob. In an amazingly short time, the cone has
been reduced to flat scales on the ground, while the seeds now reside inside the squirrel.
Red squirrels are also great hands for temporarily storing certain kinds of food in trees. When a
late-summer mushroom or an apple, some distance from an apple tree, is seen securely placed in a low
crotch, the culprit is almost always an industrious little red.
Allusion has already been made to the very different personalities of these two species, but nowhere
is this more evident than in their vocalizations. In keeping with their generally more sedate deportment,
gray squirrels speak sparingly. Aside from high-pitched alarm calls of young squirrels being attacked by
a predator, the gray's voice is confined to something that is usually—though inadequately—described
as a bark. Although these sounds are of short duration, they are nothing like the bark of a dog. Rather,
they're thin and raspy, somewhat akin to the sound of a rough file being drawn quickly over a surface.
