Red squirrels: Little red chatterboxes of the Land O’ Lakes

Steve Blight | Jan 26, 2011

by Steve Blight

It’s midwinter in the Land O’ Lakes. Around this time of year, the human residents of the area who haven’t flown south for the winter along with most birds normally begin seeking signs of life away from the woodstove. One creature that can be counted on to provide a little entertainment is the red squirrel.

This fiery little rodent (full name American Red Squirrel) is very common in our area. Although primarily a creature of coniferous forests, the red squirrel also inhabits deciduous woodlands and can even be found in suburban and near-urban areas throughout their range. Their adaptability in terms of both habitat and food sources has made them remarkably successful.

Contrary to what many may think that a rodent normally eats, red squirrels are omnivores. In addition to nuts, seeds, bark and fruit, they are successful predators on bird's eggs, nestlings, frogs, salamanders, insects and even mammals such as voles and young rabbits. In spring they will feed on maple sap and the buds of both coniferous and deciduous trees. They won’t turn their noses up at a good feed of carrion, and they harvest mushrooms, often lodging them in the crook of a tree branch to dry. In a nutshell (pun intended), they will eat almost anything.

One way red squirrels have adapted in order to survive winter is by caching food. For example, piles of spruce cones or other nuts and seeds found in sheltered places on the ground are likely to be red squirrel food caches.

Young red squirrels are usually born in April through to early May. Tiny and naked at first, the typically three or four youngsters grow quickly and within a month are almost fully furred. A fully-grown red squirrel weighs about 250 grams (a bit more than half a pound) and will likely live somewhere between two and three years if it has a bit of luck avoiding its main predators, which include owls, fishers and foxes.

Red squirrels are legendary acrobats when it comes to food. Anyone with a bird feeder in red squirrel country knows how adept they are at getting past the defences we put up. I have seen a red squirrel travel down a long clothesline, upside down and commando-style – hand-over hand – to successfully mount a raid on a feeder stocked with sunflower seeds. I have monitored the daily progress of a red squirrel as it slowly conquered a “guaranteed squirrel-proof” bird feeder. I suppose it didn’t read the fine print. And I have watched a determined red squirrel launching itself through space from an overhanging branch to get to a difficult to reach bird feeder mounted on a post. Not every launch resulted in success, but just as surely as night follows day, this little fellow would scurry back up the tree and launch itself again until it successfully landed on the feeder and claimed its reward.

They are perhaps equally well-known for their pugnacious behaviour. Some dogs (like ours) completely forget everything they ever learned at obedience school when they see a squirrel. Owners of such dogs know what it’s like to console a frustrated dog sitting at the base of a tree looking up at a noisy scolding squirrel. And one great story I read on-line described how a woman watched a red squirrel riding on the back of a gray squirrel and repeatedly biting its head. The gray squirrel was running with difficulty, trying to shake the smaller animal from its back, with no apparent success. Talk about feisty!

So while red squirrels may cost us bird feeding types a little extra seed, I think many would agree that their antics are entertaining. Some days it even makes it seem worthwhile to be here in the Great White North for the winter.

 Please feel free to report any observations to Lorraine Julien at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  or Steve Blight at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.