Flying Squirrels

About the time Sue was wondering how she could get out of helping Nancy with the raking and find something to photograph, help arrived.


We have a family visiting us from France. In the course of the children exploring the property, they came across a very rickety bird house. One thing lead to another, and while they were playing in the area the bird house fell down. When it hit the ground, it broke open, releasing a very upset mother flying squirrel, and her four tiny babies.











The kids came looking for help for the family. Nancy grabbed tools. Sue grabbed her camera. All of us set off on the rescue mission. Carefully watched by the mother squirrel, (you can see her over to the side of the picture where we're hanging the nest up!) and assisted by Dimitri, Timothee, Simeon, Jeromine, Leonard and Catherine, with some assitance from Vincent, we put the box gently back together, and hung it more securely back up on the post.












Mother squirrel went up and down the post a few times, checking to be sure all the kids were where they belonged, and then she popped back into the repaired house to set her housekeeping to rights, fluff up the nest, and settle the babies in for their disturbed nap.

Northern Flying Squirrels, with their enormous eyes, round ears and cape-like glide membrane folded loosely between front and rear legs, are a little bigger and heavier than their southern cousins. The pups start trying to glide in their third month, and are proficient at the task by the fourth month. They are far and away the most attractive of the squirrels we see around here, and it's very interesting to watch them at night come to the birdfeeders and glide away, limbs outstretched. Much more rare is to see them during the day, as we did today.

Rarer still to get photos like these. We think Sue might have another prize winning entry in her camera!