What does this adorable face have to do with the civil war? Well, in reality, not much at all. Unless you look deep into the natural history, and add some imagination.
You might even be asking yourself what this creature actually is!? Meet the Northern Flying Squirrel, a denizen of the night which you might have heard during the winter landing on your roof or scurrying noisily through the attic.
There are 2 species of flying squirrels which can be found in Maine, the Northern Flying Squirrel, and the Southern Flying Squirrel (enter our South vs the North theme!). The northern is larger, weighing in at up to 5 ounces, whereas the southern usually tops out at no more than 3 ounces. Both are primarily nocturnal, shy, and especially when it is cold - den in groups to share the benefit of body heat.
Northern flying squirrels - much like their slightly larger cousins, the Red Squirrel - are creatures of conifer forests. They depend heavily on a specific fungi (truffles) which are found underground in this habitat - and in fact, a common summer sign that clues you in that they are around are digs for the underground mushroom, or partially consumed fungi. For a better look at this sign, take a peek in Mammal Tracks and Sign 2nd ed by Mark Elbroch on page 250. On the other hand, southern flying squirrels are not nearly so habitat specific and this smaller but more flexible squirrel is quite happy living anywhere. The 2 species actually get along quite well - and will share winter dens, which (ahem) invariably leads to hybrids of northern and southern flying squirrels.
Northern flying squirrels will "fly" - which is actually gliding using a specialized membrane called a patagium that allows them to appear to fly from high up in trees to lower house tops, bird feeders, and the ground. Once on the ground - they will bound, much like other squirrels (however, southern flying squirrels HOP, a major distinction beyond track size). When the northerns bound, they spread their front feet wider apart than reds - creating a "boxy" look -- which shows in the cell camera photo above. The trail width and stride are a bit smaller than, but similar to, red squirrels - and you can see a representative sample next to my foot. The front feet, like all bounders, show in the trail BEHIND the rear feet -- and in this photo, are closer to my heel (the squirrel was travelling photo right to photo left).
The above photo shows a wonderful look at individual tracks in light, fresh snow (as the creator chose to raid my peanut feeder!). Northern flying squirrels will den in holes previously made by woodpeckers, attics not properly closed in by people, or will create their own spherical nests of woven soft grasses, which are about 10 inches of diameter and are usually found in sheltered areas of conifer trees. Their scat is usually in generous amounts in the areas in which they shelter. "Knocking" on a tree with a hole in it while hiking will sometimes result in a sleepy and confused squirrel peeking out of the opening to see who is interrupting their beauty sleep!
It sounds like other than interbreeding, all is well between the southern and northern flying squirrel - so where does the war come in? Well, in many areas, the northern flying squirrel is in serious decline. Some of this may be in part due to habitat destruction - remember that the northern is the "finicky" squirrel who needs conifer forests and specialized fungi to survive - and if this habitat is destroyed, the northern squirrel will perish while the southern continues to expand its' range. However, the more unusual issue is that the southerns carry an intestinal parasite, which is unknown in northern squirrels who are not exposed to southerns. When the 2 species come into overlap, the southerns appear to pass this parasite to the notherns, which then alters the ecosystem of the intestinal tract, making this parasite (as well as others which were previously benign to the animal) infectious and resulting in disease in the northern flying squirrel, while the southerns remain unscathed.
So the southern not only has the upper hand on the territorial advances, but a secret weapon which reduces the competing population.
Meanwhile, however, I continue to enjoy the nightly winter visits by this northern squirrel and about 15 of it's den mates. There is no doubt when they arrive by the thuds on my roof and noisy chatters when I have neglected to appropriately fill the feeders for the night. They certainly have learned to exploit a screened in porch on the house and appear to delight in triggering my trail cameras in mass.
Can you see at least 3 little bandits raiding my deer feeder and caught on camera in the act? Head out after dark with a flashlight and see if you find any of these kids around your bird feeders! Or better yet - track in some fresh morning snow, before the red squirrels get out of bed!
Do you know who this bird is? To check your answer - pop over to my instagram page!