The Bushy Tailed Ones

   Don’t you just love those furry little animals who steal bird seed out your bird feeder, or who build nests on the side your house? I love sitting outside in my backyard listening to them on my house. It is very amusing to see them run along our window sills making their nest. Even though these little animals cause a lot of trouble, I find them so fun to watch!! Alright, maybe this animal isn’t your favorite, but they’re interesting and sneaky nevertheless. The squirrel that you see in this area is the Douglas squirrels. Douglas squirrels are not indigenous to this area. The squirrel that is, is the Grey squirrel. They are now seldom seen because the invasive Douglas squirrel has pushed them out. Now we see them in open spaces, because that is a natural habitat with oak trees and few pines. Oaks provide acorns for Grey squirrels, but few pine trees for the Douglas squirrel. Even though the Grey squirrel is the indigenous one, I am going to talk about the Douglas squirrel, the squirrel more commonly seen in this area. The Douglas squirrel does have an eastern equivalent, and that is the Eastern Red Squirrel. Although they don’t look alike these squirrels occupy the same niche in nature. This squirrel has many names including Tamiasciurus douglasii, Chickaree, and the pine squirrel. When some people think about squirrels they picture a little furry animal with a bushy tail. But not every squirrel has a bushy tail, but the Douglas squirrel does. This squirrel has a slight orange tint on the under side of their body and the top is a soft brown color. Adult squirrels can grow to about 7-9 inches including their tails; and believe it or not this animal only weighs about ½ a pound!

This squirrel likes to live in coniferous forests. The reason they like to live in coniferous forests in because these squirrels mainly eat the seeds of coniferous, or needle and cone bearing trees. They also eat berries, mushrooms, some fruit,  the eggs of some birds and acorns. Although Douglas squirrels eat acorns, their bodies don’t digest them well.  Did you know that unlike most cute and furry animals, these squirrels don’t have chubby cheeks to hold food? And they also like to live in second growth forests. A second growth forest is a forest that has grown back over time after a fire, logging or infestation of some sort. In the summer these squirrels make ball shaped nests in the branches of trees. In the winter they prefer make their nest in the hollows inside of trees.

Mom note: This information is from from something I read awhile ago. I couldn’t find my original source so I’m going from memory. If you find this to be incorrect, pleace let me know.

Tags: acorns, Douglas squirrel, Grey squirrel, homeschool, oaks, pines, squirrel