Look around when you hear this chattery rodent
Few other animals offer such accessible wildlife-viewing opportunities, and there is more to these twitchy-tailed animals than first meets the eye.
Karen McColl is a wildlife-viewing specialist with the Government of Yukon Department of Environment. She loves learning about nature and sharing that knowledge with others.
You can be forgiven for overlooking the red squirrel. They aren’t graceful like a fox, or impressive like a bear. They aren’t difficult to spot like a wolverine, or elusive like a lynx. In fact, it’s hard not to notice the persistent chatter of these wily rodents as they skitter up and down trees in backyards and urban areas. It could be easy, therefore, to think of red squirrels as rather ordinary or, as some might even say, irksome.
Understanding more about the behaviour of red squirrels may soften this stance. If you think their abundance makes them boring, think again: Few other animals offer such accessible wildlife-viewing opportunities, and there is more to these twitchy-tailed animals than first meets the eye.
Red squirrels are solitary and territorial animals. By now, their young (those lucky enough to survive their first perilous months of life) have struck out for their own territories. These small mammals don’t migrate or hibernate in winter but survive by conserving energy—by limiting their movements and eating from food caches.
In summer, squirrels feast on mushrooms, berries, birds’ eggs, insects and mice, but during the coldest and darkest months they primarily rely on the seeds of white spruce cones. That’s why squirrels are now monofocused on gathering and caching food for winter. These hoarders drop cones from treetops in gentle thuds, then transport them to a central stockpile called a midden, a pile of cone scales that can be several feet deep. Squirrels remove the cone scales to eat the inner seeds, kind of like how people eat corn on the cob, except we don’t drop the kernels (they just get stuck in our teeth). Beneath the piles of scales lies a network of tunnels where squirrels store freshly-harvested cones, the green ones that haven’t opened yet. Humidity in the tunnels helps to preserve the cones until eating time.
If these copper-furred rodents appear more ornery than usual, it’s likely because they are running out of time to collect the roughly 15,000 cones they need to get through winter. They devour the seeds of up to 100 cones a day. Such is the urgency that some resort to in pilfering cones from their neighbours. Squirrels are on high alert for thievery, ready to defend their caches from marauders. Their rattle call is meant to scare away intruders, as are their shorter barks and “chucks.” They will also stamp their feet and flick their tails.
Perhaps you have experienced this rather unwelcoming behaviour on a recent walk in the woods. The next time you do, take a moment to look around. You may be surprised at what you notice.
Squirrel territories are small—less than the size of a football field—so when this hyperactive animal loudly announces its presence, you know a midden is near. Look for the most productive spruce trees (those with the most cones). You’re likely to spot the midden nearby.
Squirrels also build nests of moss, grass, bark, fur and twigs. They have several on their territory and one more of these will be in the vicinity of the midden. Look for them in the crooks of spruce trees, about three metres off the ground. Nests will usually be in trees that are connected to the canopy of other trees, offering squirrels escape routes from the snapping jaws of ermine, marten and birds of prey.
Other signs of squirrel activity include smaller piles of cone scales in preferred eating locations and well-worn pathways between favourite trees. And if there’s a mushroom in a tree, a squirrel likely left it there to eat later. These chirpy animals are fascinating if you take time to read the clues in the boreal forest.
Wildlife Viewing is offering two free events about red squirrels in Whitehorse in September: one in French and the other in English. Une affaire de noix! is Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m.; and Ahhh nuts! is at 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 10. Visit Yukon.ca/wild-discoveries for more details.
