Recently Sighted: Squirrel Midden

Squirrel middens are interesting, but they are often overlooked by casual observers. The word midden means “refuse heap” and is a term that naturalists borrowed from archeology. Originally the term was “kitchen midden” referring to places that humans discarded bones, seeds, food scraps and even broken pottery.

Gray Squirrel midden

Recently, I noticed a pile of Norway Spruce (Picea abies) cone “cobs” and scales. An Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) perched on a branch stub about 30 feet off the ground. She sat with her back to the trunk and dropped cone “cobs” and scales forming a large pile. She must feel safe here and returned frequently to eat. The midden comprised several hundred “cobs” and thousands of cone scales making a pile on the ground 10 inches deep and three feet in diameter. I poked through the pile and I discovered no missed seeds. This is the largest Gray Squirrel midden I have ever found. The cones were collected off the ground or cut out of the tree. Gray Squirrels spread their food hoarding over a wide area because they bury nuts individually. This results in smaller middens.

Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) middens are typically larger than Gray Squirrel middens. Red Squirrels store their winter food in caches in hollow spaces in trees or, unfortunately, in buildings. Their middens can accumulate in a local area all winter and sometimes are the refuse from several squirrels. The largest one in my field notes was 5 feet in diameter and three feet deep. It was several layers deep and appeared to have accumulated over at least three winters.

Now is a good time to look for squirrels forming middens. If you are lucky, you might find a squirrel feeding and adding to a midden. They are fun to watch.

 
Copyright 2020 by Donald Drife

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Happy Groundhog Day

Marmota monax Woodchuck

Woodchuck

The first Groundhog Day at Gobbler’s Knob, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, was celebrated February 2, 1887. The day was celebrated elsewhere earlier and traces its tradition back to Candlemas Day. At a special church service (a Mass), the church would bless candles. The candles indicated how long the winter would be. Germans added a hedgehog as a weather predictor and used a groundhog once they settled in America. See history.com for more information.

Woodchuck eating corn

Woodchuck eating corn

Groundhogs (Marmota monax) are also called Woodchucks or Whistle-pigs. They are in the Squirrel Family (Sciuridae) and occur throughout Michigan. They have two to nine young per year but the average is around four. The mother is protective of her young and will stand on her hind feet (or tent peg as I call it) and watch for danger.

A Woodchuck has lived under our deck for the 25 years we have lived in this house. My first encounter happened the first weekend we lived here. I was sitting on the ground, repairing the siding along the bottom of the garage. I felt a cold spot on the small of my back and jumped up yelling to my wife “It’s a Woodchuck.” The Woodchuck turned, whistled, and dove under the deck. I try not to anthropomorphize but I think the whistle meant, “It’s a human.”

Mother Woodchuck keeping watch

Mother Woodchuck keeping watch

Our resident Woodchuck has been a lone male or a female with young. Seven young is our record. I have seen a mother Woodchuck charge and tree a Raccoon that she thought was too close to one of her babies. We have a fence around our vegetable garden that they could dig under or just climb but that has never happened. They will eat wildflowers that grow in the yard. Different Woodchucks prefer different plants. Some years our Bellwort (Uvularia grandiflora) is fine, other years it is mowed flat. The adults leave certain plants alone such as the wild Iris, but the young will bite a mouthful or two to try it. The years we have young in our yard each species of plant gets bites taken from it. The young try to eat everything. Violet leaves and flowers are a favorite Woodchuck food. Lucky our “lawn” is filled with violets.

Two young woodchucks

Two young woodchucks

I have coexisted with our Woodchuck friends because they are entertaining to watch and they too need a place to live. Enjoy Groundhog Day but remember, no self-respecting Groundhog would be awake in Michigan on February 2nd.
Copyright 2014 by Donald Drife

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National Squirrel Appreciation Day

Sciurus niger Eastern Fox Squirrel

Eastern Fox Squirrel

January 21 is National Squirrel Appreciation Day. Christy Hargrove, a wildlife rehabilitator, began the celebration. Mid-winter is a time when food becomes hard to find for our squirrel friends, so she felt that it was a good time to focus some attention (and food) on them.

Michigan has five species of squirrels. Northern and Southern Flying Squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus and G. volans) are nocturnal and shy. I hear them calling on dark nights and seldom see them. The most reliable way to distinguish the two flying squirrel species is by their teeth. Both species are recorded from Oakland Co., Michigan.

The other three squirrel species are well known and often observed. They are Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger), the Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) including the Black Squirrel, and the much smaller Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus).

Sciurus niger  Eastern Fox Squirrel

Eastern Fox Squirrel

The Eastern Fox Squirrel is the largest of our Michigan squirrels, 50-56 cm. (20-22 inches) long and weighing between 680 and 1360 grams (1.5 and 3 lbs). It differs from our other squirrels by its size and yellowish brown, with some reddish color. There are some color variations, including individuals that are much paler than normal. I have seen pure white albinos with pink eyes. This species and the Eastern Gray Squirrel both build leafy nests in trees and will use cavities in trees for nesting as well.

Sciurus carolinensis     Eastern Gray Squirrel

Eastern Gray Squirrel grey morph

Sciurus carolinensis  Eastern Fox Squirrel

Eastern Gray Squirrel black morph (Black Squirrel)

Both gray and black squirrels in Michigan are members of a single species, the Eastern Gray Squirrel. Ranging from 41 to 51 cm. (16 to 20 inches) long, and weighing between 340 and 680 grams (.75 and 1.5 lbs), it is slightly smaller than the Eastern Fox Squirrel. The gray morph is dark to pale gray on the back, with a light gray or buff belly. Some of the black morph animals have blond tails or reddish coloring in places. Though they appear very different, the two color morphs are often present in one litter. According to the Animal Diversity Web entry for this species, the black color morph is more common in the northern part of the squirrel’s range. Black animals lose less heat and have a lower basal metabolic rate, which should give them a survival advantage in cold winter temperatures.

We now see many Gray Squirrels in both color morphs in our yard. When we first moved here 22 years ago, there were only Eastern Fox and an occasional Red Squirrel. The Gray Squirrel has spread into the area and become dominant over the Fox, even though it is smaller.

Tamiasciurus hudsonicus Red Squirrel

Red Squirrel

The last squirrel in our area is the Red Squirrel. It is small, 28 to 35 cm. (11 to 14 inches), with a reddish back, white underside and broken white eye-ring. Even though it is smaller, size matters not. It is aggressive, and can and will run off larger squirrels.

Get out and watch squirrels. They are fascinating. One of the Fox Squirrel photos shows a squirrel on a garbage can that contains sunflower seeds. It was pulling on the chain trying to break in. They sprawl out on our deck railings to cool off on a hot day. They fluff up their fur in the cold and hold their tails over their bodies in the rain or snow. They run and jump through the trees. They are just fun to watch. Have a happy NSAD.

Copyright 2014 by Donald Drife

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