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Squirrel house project from Tom Brown 11 May 2009 - I found your web page on the grey squirrel very informative as well as amusing. I live near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and decided to build a squirrel house when we got an unexpected snow this February. I have always enjoyed the antics of the many grey squirrels in our neighborhood, and now have discovered that the squirrel who moved into my newly hung house has found it suitable to raise a family. The babies were born about two weeks ago as best I can estimate, and I am patiently awaiting their emergence from their new home. I have included a few photos that you are free to use as you see fit if you wish. I will send more when her babies make their debut. Thanks again for the interesting articles.
Chapter 2: Babies26 May 2009 - We have had a reversal of fortune at the squirrel house. Just when I had about given up hope, I discovered after much surveillance that mother squirrel apparently decided to keep her young in a much higher tree down the street until they were just a wee bit older. Today, she chose to bring them back to her luxury apartment in our tree. Maybe the new curb appeal of a high climbing rose in bloom did the trick. Here is the first picture of one of the young.
I didn't know how the baby arrived until I watched for about an hour, when I saw the mother drag another baby, kicking and squealing, back to the house. She then literally stuffed him/her into the opening. Here she is coaxing another confused baby into her house.
Here is another new arrival peeking out. I counted four "insertions" so far.
After delivering the fourth little one into the new nursery, she took a break and came over to get something to eat after her ordeal. I gave her some peanut butter bread, which she is seen here enjoying on a nearby branch, all the while keeping one eye on the house. A baby can be seen looking at out mom.
Chapter 3: "Yet more ridiculous photos from the squirrel house drama series"29 May - Mom takes a break in her favorite tree next door, a Japanese Maple. The neighbor hangs a few plants from it, and she loves to hide her extra food in the baskets.
Here mom sits a little closer than usual to the house when the youngsters get a little too curious and threaten to venture off their deck. Usually she is further up the tree. This little one is the most curious, and is responsible for finally tearing all of the petals off the closest rose at the left. He/she now has designs on the one resting against the roof and has attempted more than once to get on top of the house to get at it. He/she still can't quite figure out who or what I am, but is not as concerned about my presence now.
This photo shows the same little one right after having removed the last petal from the rose that overhung the deck. He/she always smelled the petals for a few moments before grabbing them and tugging until they came off.
A youngster gets a front row seat to witness mom chasing a strange squirrel out of "her yard." Mom doesn't relent until the invader is at least two yards away, and then waits to make sure it doesn't come back to forage in any of her usual food hiding spots. Any other squirrel actually daring to climb into her tree is rewarded with an especially harsh and noisy dispatching. She guards her brood and her territory quite zealously. You only notice these things after having sat for a while and watched what otherwise seems just a normal rustling in the leaves.
After many weeks of moving very slowly and talking softly to her, mom has become so comfortable with me watching and photographing her, that she will actually fall into a very light sleep on her lower branch observation spot. She had closed her eyes for a brief moment here, before being awakened by a noisy car going down the street. She has also begun standing on the mailbox on our front porch and leaning over to look in the open door to see if I am getting her any goodies.
Mom can be seen to the left of red arrow at top of photo. This is her usual perch after feeding herself and her babies. She sits high above the house and surrounding area while her youngsters play on the deck below. From here she can keep a keen eye on them as well as spot any intruders that enter the yard.
Chapter 4: "The big adventure"2 June - Saturday started out like any other day in the squirrel house, but this day would prove to be different. It was a beautiful day, cool and sunny. Here mom is sitting with me on our porch, enjoying a few walnuts, Brazil nuts, and almonds.
After her late morning snack, mom returns to the house to rest on the deck and enjoy the gentle breeze. The youngsters are still inside, sleeping in late.
She is particularly willing to pose for a few close-ups today, and charms the camera once again with her "I'm curious too" pose.
Quickly becoming bored with my picture taking and talking to her in a "foreign tongue", she lays her head down on the deck, and actually drifts off to sleep.
Resting as she often does, with her tail sticking inside the house, she is soon awakened by a familiar feeling, and raises her head up onto the railing.
Yep, just what she suspected, the kids are awake. After the third tiny nip on her tail, she gives up any hope of the nap and lazy day on the deck.
It's the most rambunctious of the little ones, the rose petal puller, who is tired of staying in the house, and lets mom know it.
I hadn't realized just how fast the youngsters were growing. The once walnut-sized baby is now almost two thirds the size of mom and full of energy.
Despite her best efforts at discouraging her eager little one, she finally gives up and knows what she must do to satisfy her relentless child.
All of the begging and pleading was for one purpose. The little one decided that it was time they were allowed to have their first adventure off the deck and into the tree. They had watched mom enough to get up the courage to climb.
Hearing all of the commotion outside, another of the young peers out to see what's going on. The sibling, already out in the tree, is racing up to the very top of the trunk and back down to the house at a startling pace.
As the first explorer races back to the top of the tree for another bird's eye view, the remaining youngster gives in to curiosity and joins the other on the deck to try it's hand/paw at climbing.
After what seemed like a minute or so, all three young squirrels were having the time of their young lives, scrambling wildly from branch to branch. They move so quickly that their furry little bodies dissolve into a blur. All the while during their joyous hour of romping in the sun, mom was moving calmly from limb to limb, watching to make sure nobody ventured down to the ground. Any youngster climbing below the level of the house was quickly chased back to the safety of the higher branches, or back into the house itself. Mom can be seen at the left of the photo, the scolded youngster in the house.
Finally two of the triplets wear themselves out and climb back down to go inside for another nap. In the short time they were out, all of the young learned to climb with the skill of even the most experienced of tree dwellers. One lingered in the top of the tree for several minutes more, fascinated by a small twig with only one leaf on it's tip. After successfully tearing the leaf off, the young squirrel returned to join the others. It's been quite a day after all. I now wonder how much longer I will have the company of this band of comedians and their sweet mother. The coming days will no doubt tell.
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