I've thought the same thing. We have a huge spruce tree in the backyard and, additionally, we back up to woods. We have lots of squirrels but I've never found a baby. Well, I'm happy about that. Perhaps they make very secure nests. Such tiny little things in these photos.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/science/adoption-not-limited-to-social-animals-37692.html
Marabelle and Peanut are so precious. :)
Squirrel Pics (and Conversation) Vol. 18
Hugs. :)
Squirrels are busier than ever around here. We've finally getting some color to the leaves, lots of yellow, some red. It goes quickly once it starts.
Amanda, I am sorry you have had such sadness. The murder is scary stuff!!!
I have seen the baby squirrels outside the nest....but have had no luck getting any pictures!
Normally we just have gray here....but these have a touch of red in them.
I was looking for some butterfly ID help and came across this squirrel extravaganza. I love chipmunks and red squirrels. I submitted this photo to our local newspaper where we have our cabin in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It is of this year's chipmunk pup eating a garter snake. I had found a frog with the head and 4 legs gone in the same spot a week or two before. Kind of gross pictures but it is what chipmunks do in private when we aren't looking.
WHOA! Yah, pretty gross but I had no idea they were carnivores. ick. not so cute when nibbling on a snake! Short on acorns up there? haha.
Since I found this forum I will share some more of my chipmunk friends from Michigan. I am outside almost all day and always have a can of peanuts nearby so I have some very tame chipmunks so I get to observe their behavior closely.
The baby chipmunk already had his tail bitten off - chipmunks are territorial and can be vicious to each other. The large garter snake shares the wall with chipmunks, although he is large he is too small to get one of the chipmunks - see the chipmunk on the wall on the right. Photo 3 is a Least chipmunk or Western chipmunk pup, we are on the border of their range so we have a few. Photos 4 & 5 are of a habit that our chipmunks have picked up, we have gravel all around the cabin to stop rain splash on the logs and they get a pouchful of bird seed or peanuts and then pick up a rock so their food doesn't come out when they run to their den.
wow, that rock trick is brilliant.
Very clever little critters, aren't they? :)
Thanks for sharing ottahand! These pics will leave me with a smile on my face. Except maybe the pics with the garter snake, but your critters win the prize for strange behavior as far as I'm concerned . :D
Poor little guy with the missing tail. So territorial. But they are resourceful.
The little chipmunk with the rock is so cute, I too had no idea they would eat snakes. I've never seen our squirrels eat anything but nuts and vegetation. They will chase each other out of their territory but they don't get real aggressive.
Cvill_Gardener, that is interesting story of the White Squirrel claims. Interesting they don't even mention Florida, but do remember reading that gypsies were taking the Florida white squirrels up north...they are protected here also.
Here is something I found,not official but sightings of white squirrels...
http://www.brevardnc.org/whitesquirrelinstitute/WSColonies.html
Thanks. I'm not too far from Bowling Green, KY which is on that list. I've never seen a white squirrel here but who knows. I hope I do one of these days. :)
Oh yes, I've been to Brevard which is where I saw my first white squirrel and subsequently read as much about the fascinating things as I could find. :)
And Melody's Sunday Funnies here today features a white squirrel no less!! Hmmmmm..
Do you have the link to the Sunday Funnies, I can't find anything, thanks.
Oops, sorry. http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/4517/
Thanks I thought that might be my photo, since I was asked permission. I know what that squirrel was thinking when it jumped up on my bike tire, "I don't care if the ranger is looking at us, give me a nut or you're not going anywhere."
And that's the truth :-P
I didn't see the attribution. Very cool that it's your photo, sunkissed. Nice, nice shot. Yes, I'd say that's what that little fella is thinking. Squirrel with attitude, no doubt.
After sharing the photos of my MI chipmunks I thought I would share one of our MD squirrels. As you can see this one doesn't miss many meals at our feeder. I haven't seen him/her around lately but it could have lost weight with a mostly empty feeder all summer.
LOL. Too cute. Yes, he was a chubby one alright.
Yep, that squirrel needs to cut back on the nuts. ☺
CRIKEY!!!
Here are some more chipmunks. Our cats are indoor cats so you don't have to worry about them eating the chipmunks.
HA! Cute chippy!
but I had a neighbor's cat on one of my feeders today!
I put some kibble out for the birds that eat bugs and nuts (bluejays, wrens, etc.). Catbirds maybe, but never a feline. Ooops. Chased him away proper, I did.
A.
Oh, those are great photos, ottahand. :)
Great photos ottahand, keeps the kitties entertained. Mine watch me feed the squirrels and give me a look through the screen, sort of like your kitty is giving. ;)
Been enjoying a couple of possums at night too in addition to the daytime queue of squirrels and feathered friends. In the last two weeks with my mad money earn d from dog and house sitting I purchased not less than 130 lbs. of bird seed and related packages of dry goodies that are gobbled up by those cute buggers.
Picked up two (2) 40 lb bags of black oil sunflower seed for just under $18 each at southern states as well as a 40 lb bag of a wild bird mix with peanut hearts and a 10 lb bag of cracked corn to mix in.
Tonight I bought the possum a bag of dried mealworms to go with his plate of Apple slices, kibble, mystery meat, dried krill/dried river shrimp left over from the Oscar fish days, etc. Last night I sliced up a turkey hot dog in there. The night before he got a while slice of leftover pizza. Before that he'd removing off the remnants of some frozen lasagna we couldn't bear to finish. Good for me, helps to clean out the fridge. :)
No pictures but lots of smiles.
Hope all's well out there too.
I thought you needed a smile!!!
What a hoot, Debbie! Thanks for the chuckles and the smiles. ♥
Leaves are raked - the wood is hauled and stacked - time to think summer again and my Michigan chipmunks and a tamer red squirrel we had last year. And I think I saw my obese MD squirrel this AM - a little slimmer but bird feeding season is going full steam so I am sure he will round out soon.
Precious. :)
I still shake my head over the deal with the chippy eating the garden snake. I particularly like the image there snake on top and chippy on bottom - a little foreshadowing?!
Squirrels here are being piggy, haven't seen much chippy activity, though we may have at least one field mouse and Court swears he saw a "toad" (aka rat) this morning dart under the back porch. Crud. I wish we could share with all of them, it's the population explosion that is terribly bothersome.
Hope everybody is enjoying "the season" so far.
A.
More nice photos. I do enjoy the squirrel antics even though a lot of people think of them as a nuisance. Well, what do they know???
Cute Cover Squirrel Debbie.
Chippy is adorable, and I do think sometimes the squirrels eat more bird seed than the birds do.
Here is Peanut on my oak tree, I was photographing something else and she appeared right in front of me, so I snapped her picture. Oh, and she or he is living back in our oak tree again and has been for a few months now. Don't know why she left for a bit, but she knows where the peanuts are...LOL!
Sweet baby. :)
That's a great shot of peanut. I'm hoping to get some photos soon.
"Where's my coffee?!!!"
(Not my photo, but another pin)
Sweet. :)
I'm having fun with the squirrels. They start showing up around 8 am. Sometimes I will rush right out to feed everybody, but some days I don't get out till after I complete the first round of indoor Zoo Chores.
We've counted at least 9 at one time right here off the back porch. I can't see to TH back of the yard once I come in, but there are two nests in the pecan tree, and I put sunflower seeds all over the yard in predictable regular places. Bought some wildlife mix today with whole peanuts in the , grey striped sunflower seeds, and giant dried corn kernels. I think I scared them off. There's always an adjustment period when something changes out there. It's been a while since I watched a squirrel prefer to eat corn over sunflower seeds. We'll see how it goes. The price was right and I'll go back for more if it goes over. The crows used to eat the corn, so maybe they'll pick up what's left.
Hope everybody is surviving the "season." :)