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Post by tonyw on Feb 26, 2021 21:15:52 GMT
A sure sign of spring here is when the sap starts running in the sugar maples. First to tap the sap are the birds and the squirrels. Here's an acrobatic squirrel getting a sugar fix - apparently they make chisel marks with their teeth and then return later to lick the sugar from the evaporated sap. Our sugar maple seems to survive being pecked at and drunk from!  Tony |
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Post by hmca on Feb 26, 2021 22:24:03 GMT
I think I may have only seen a black squirrel once. Interesting process for getting to the sugar. Always look forward to Spring but rarely do we get a good one anymore.
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Post by jackscrap on Feb 27, 2021 0:02:27 GMT
I never knew that squirrels came in black! How wonderful to have them in your foraging in your garden.
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Post by tonyw on Feb 27, 2021 1:22:22 GMT
I never knew that squirrels came in black! How wonderful to have them in your foraging in your garden. I'd forgotten that black squirrels aren't as common as they are around here - we usually have three or four around and they are the dominant type. They are actually Eastern Grey Squirrels with a mutated gene. We do have the greys as well although not as many but they all get on fine together chasing each other. One theory is that they have become dominant because black fur is better than grey fur in winter for staying warm. We also have a very few whites which are, like the blacks, a mutant of the grey rather than albinos (they don't have red eyes). I've only ever seen a couple and when one is spotted (as happened locally last month) the social networks get busy especially with the local nature photographers. Here's a link to a picture of a local one that a friend of mine got at Christmas - White Squirrel Tony |
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Post by jackscrap on Feb 27, 2021 8:32:53 GMT
I love the photo of the white squirrel, thanks for that information on squirrel varieties, they all look cute to me.
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Post by whippet on Feb 27, 2021 19:28:47 GMT
That is really interesting, I never knew there were black, or white squirrels. They are both beautiful. Our native, is the red, but they are being overtaken by the grey, which was introduced to the UK many years ago. SQUIRREL |
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