Squirrel Nest Update

Until new leaves hide the squirrels' nest on our neighbor's red maple, I have a clear view of it high in the tree.

It looks in shabby condition these days - it seemed to "fall apart" the day I watched five small squirrels come out of it... (born over the winter?)... Possibly - because squirrels apparently leave the nest when they are three months old. They become independent not long after. The day I watched them burst out of thr nest, they ran up and down branches exuberantly... and the nest seemed to fall apart... To my knowledge, no squirrel has moved back in.

I looked up "How long does a squirrel's nest (drey) last ?" - and I found no definitive answer.

But I did find a very informative LOCAL online site about local squirrels: carphills.com

 https://carphills.com/?page_id=3771#:~:text=Squirrels%20nest%20in%20tree%20hollows,and%20become%20independent%20soon%20after.

There I read that black squirrels - like the ones in our yard - are part of the grey squirrel family.

I also discovered several fascinating facts about squirrels that I didn't know:

First, that squirrels can drop their tails. One website said the tails can grow back. Another said that this is just a myth... (I photographed a tail-less squirrel a month or so ago.) 

And second, that there is a species of squirrels in our region that are rarely seen because they only come out at night: the Southern flying squirrel.

Fascinating! I wonder if there are any in our neighborhood.