With big eyes that help with nighttime navigation and long tails for guidance , southern flying squirrels can glide up on their wing-like flaps of loose skin up to 250 feet from high to lower tree branches . These acrobatic parachuters weigh about 2.5 ounces and measure 8-10 inches from tip to tail .
around dusk , they begin to move around in the tree canopy , and call out with sounds easily mistaken as either frogs or bird peeps . What we thought were peepers were actually itty-bitty flying squirrels .
These adorable little guys don ’ t actually fly , they glide . And they glide really , really well . They can go nearly the length of a football field in a single hop from one tree to another , using skin flaps that spread from front to hind legs , sort of like a parachute . They also steer with those flaps , and use their tails as a form of rudder , gracefully landing on vertical tree surfaces like Velcro . This agility gives them a slight advantage over other squirrels from shared predators like owls , hawks , and domestic cats . ( But unfortunately they are still tasty to all of those above .)
One reason they are more common in the Reserve than in urban settings is that Southern Flying Squirrels need stands of mature trees to survive . Oak , hickory , maple , cherry and mulberry trees are fantastic sources of food for them , but they are also fairly omnivorous , enjoying everything from fruits , flowers , and eggs , to pollen , and lichen . Interestingly , they can
also supplement their hydration from lichen and moss . And if those mature trees have woodpecker holes in them between 15 and 20 feet up , they also use them for communal nest cavities . In fact , come winter , several females will share those cavities with their babies in an effort to stay warm , as they don ’ t hibernate .
Fortunately , flying squirrels pose very little threat to humans . They are not known to transmit disease and would only bite if injured and threatened . Of course , their incisors have to crack nut shell , so you can imagine that wee critter ’ s bite would hurt like a son of a gun . But basically , southern flying squirrels are just a simple wild mammal we can all look at , and say , “ Awwww .”
Their numbers aren ’ t threatened , though two subspecies of northern flying squirrels are federally listed as endangered , due to habitat loss . And fortunately , they aren ’ t decimating any local crops . A few states even permit people to keep them as pets . Maryland and Virginia do not , however .
Cute and benign though they may be , they are able to get past our bluebird box predator guards , because they aren ’ t approaching from the ground and are small enough to squeeze into the entrance hole . And bad news : we discovered that not only did they commandeer one of our boxes for their acorn stash … they are able to reach — and eat — bluebird eggs .
So now , they have a problem . They are messing with the wrong would-be nature geeks . I can ’ t divulge the preliminary plans for the prototype of our Flying Squirrel Launching Deterrent , but I can promise you that it will be the stuff of legends on Youtube one day . No doubt , Elon Musk will be calling us soon .
The Southern Flying Squirrel : If you live in the Agricultural Reserve , you ’ ve got ‘ em .
Well loved for her wit , and self deprecating style , popular local storyteller , Pamela Boe , lives with her family in the heart of the Agricultural Reserve in Montgomery County , Maryland . Entertaining locals in the Delmarva area for decades Ms . Boe ’ s background as a former paramedic , avid outdoorswoman , mother , wife , and lifelong accident-waiting-to-happen resonates with readers across the region .
38 plenty I autumn harvest 2020