Flying Squirrels Surprisingly Common in Northwoods
by Kevin Strauss

We are all familiar with the chattery red squirrels of coniferous woods and the larger gray squirrels of mixed and deciduous forests, but according to researchers, our northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) is actually even more common here than those two well-known species. The reason that we don’t come across more flying squirrels is because of the hours that they keep. Unlike the diurnal (day-active) red and gray squirrels, flying squirrels are active a night.
Their name is actually bit of a misnomer, since “flying” squirrels don’t really fly. Instead they glide from tree to tree or from a tree to the ground using the large flaps of loose skin that hang between their front and rear legs as a kind of natural para-glider.

The biggest difference between “gliders” and true flyers is whether or not they can fly up into the air from the ground. When a bat (the only true flying mammal) lands on the ground, it can jump into the air and fly away, using its wings. When a flying squirrel lands on the ground, it must climb a tree or building before it can glide down again.

These squirrels average glides of about 30 feet (10 m), but can glide as far as 200 feet (67 m) if they have a high enough perch for the take-off. On average, these squirrels can glide three feet horizontally for every foot that they drop vertically, so if a squirrel wanted to glide 180 feet, it would only have to climb 60 feet up in a tree. But these longer glides may be less common, in part, because if flying squirrels spend too much time in the air, they are easy prey for the great horned owls that like to feed on them.
Gliding through the forest at night would be dangerous for many day-active birds, but flying squirrels have large, wide-set eyes to help them gather in the faint star- and moonlight and find their way in the woods. The tapetum (light reflector) in their eyes shine red-orange in the beam of a flashlight.
They also have amazing gliding control by using their tail as a rudder and by tightening or loosening the flaps of skin at their sides. One observer reported seeing a flying squirrel make a 180-degree turn during a glide.

They travel the night in search of fruits, seeds, insects, lichen, mushrooms and the buds of trees like aspen, alder and willow trees. It is probably much easier to locate and eat stationary seeds and fruits at night than to catch moving insects. In some cases, flying squirrels might raid the pinecone food stockpiles of red squirrels. The reds might not even know they have lost some of their food since they sleep during the night. In my mind, it servers those chattery reds right for all of the noise they make.
If you want to see a flying squirrel in your area, and you live close to a forest, one of the best ways to see them is to train a spotlight on a bird feeder that contains sunflower seeds. These nimble squirrel gliders will often land spread-eagle right on a feeder and then proceed to devour the seeds.

The Ely Timberjay