Callimaco
09-24-2008, 01:12 AM
Let me tell you my story, and then I've got a few questions.
I’ve known for a while that a squirrel had a nest up in my attic, but I hadn’t heard anything up there in many months, and I assumed the nest was abandoned. But when it turned cold last week, I heard him up there again. I did a little research and I guess it’s not uncommon for Douglas squirrels to have different winter and summer nesting sites.
I checked the nesting site and there were no babies or anything, and from what I've seen of him and read, I suspect he's a boy anyway. But he really made a mess of things up there and I felt I had to get him out of there. Plus, I can't imagine that the fiberglass insulation made for a healthy winter nest.
But I had grown fond of the little guy and didn’t want to just kick him onto the street, so to speak. So before I blocked off the holes I made a nesting box, stocked it with some old fleece and attached it way up in the fir tree that (judging by all the cones he's been cutting off it) is at the very center of his territory. I was hoping he’d move in there permanently.
Nesting box or not, he was very upset for the next couple days, gave me all kinds of angry looks (I had no idea squirrels were capable of that!) and spent a lot of time trying to get back in the attic.
I don't know what he did the first night. But the second day I decided to put a few nuts just outside the hole in the nesting box. That definitely got him to check out the box and that night I saw him go in there at dusk and I never saw him leave. I assume he slept there all night. The third day I saw the same thing. Now I knew he had moved in.
But today I accidentally spooked him. I wanted to make sure the box was still snug on the tree. I didn't see him up there and thought the coast was clear. So I got out the ladder and went on up. Well, apparently he was way up at the top of the tree and ran straight down screaming at me. I went back down the ladder as quick as I could, but it was too late. He got down to the box, stopped for a moment, and then turned around, ran back up and went from one treetop to another until he was out of sight. I was worried that I had spooked him for good and I felt really bad about it. But then, like clockwork, the sun started going down and he came down the tree and went into his box. He's sleeping there right now.
So I'm feeling pretty good about this. He doesn't seem interested in the attic any longer and he appears to be happy with his new home. But I've got a few questions.
1. He's always cut down a lot of cones from the pine and fir trees around the house. But this year it's really extraordinary how many he's dropping. (Maybe he thinks it's going to be a long winter!) We get a whole lot of snow here. I never noticed before, but I hear Douglas squirrels actually store their cones under the snow and tunnel down to get them. Is that true? I'm a little worried that I'm going to disturb his cache or collapse his tunnels when I use the snowblower.
2. I'd like to know what I can feed him. I assume pretty much any kind of nut is OK. Right now I've given him unsalted peanuts and pinenuts. (He prefers the pinenuts.) I read somewhere that you shouldn't give squirrels anything salted. But I've looked here, and I can't find a definitive confirmation. So is that true?
3. Assuming he’s as happy with his new nesting box as I’m thinking (hoping) he is, should I expect him to try to get back in the attic in the future? Or is that the kind of thing where as long as he has the nesting box he probably won’t go looking for anything else?
4. I’ve become really fascinated by this creature. Are there any books you would recommend for someone looking to educate himself about squirrels in general and Douglas squirrels in particular? (The more scientific and arcane the better!) I find myself wondering what his various calls mean, what his behaviors are all about and basically how he makes his way out there in the wilds of my backyard.
5. Is there anything I should definitely know or search for on these boards? I don’t intend to make him a pet (I guess it’s actually illegal in CA), but I’d like to see if I couldn’t make him a friendly neighbor.
Finally, there’s a picture below. It's a little dark, but I only see him there at dusk.
Thanks for your thoughts and help!
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/brl/DSC03520.jpg
I’ve known for a while that a squirrel had a nest up in my attic, but I hadn’t heard anything up there in many months, and I assumed the nest was abandoned. But when it turned cold last week, I heard him up there again. I did a little research and I guess it’s not uncommon for Douglas squirrels to have different winter and summer nesting sites.
I checked the nesting site and there were no babies or anything, and from what I've seen of him and read, I suspect he's a boy anyway. But he really made a mess of things up there and I felt I had to get him out of there. Plus, I can't imagine that the fiberglass insulation made for a healthy winter nest.
But I had grown fond of the little guy and didn’t want to just kick him onto the street, so to speak. So before I blocked off the holes I made a nesting box, stocked it with some old fleece and attached it way up in the fir tree that (judging by all the cones he's been cutting off it) is at the very center of his territory. I was hoping he’d move in there permanently.
Nesting box or not, he was very upset for the next couple days, gave me all kinds of angry looks (I had no idea squirrels were capable of that!) and spent a lot of time trying to get back in the attic.
I don't know what he did the first night. But the second day I decided to put a few nuts just outside the hole in the nesting box. That definitely got him to check out the box and that night I saw him go in there at dusk and I never saw him leave. I assume he slept there all night. The third day I saw the same thing. Now I knew he had moved in.
But today I accidentally spooked him. I wanted to make sure the box was still snug on the tree. I didn't see him up there and thought the coast was clear. So I got out the ladder and went on up. Well, apparently he was way up at the top of the tree and ran straight down screaming at me. I went back down the ladder as quick as I could, but it was too late. He got down to the box, stopped for a moment, and then turned around, ran back up and went from one treetop to another until he was out of sight. I was worried that I had spooked him for good and I felt really bad about it. But then, like clockwork, the sun started going down and he came down the tree and went into his box. He's sleeping there right now.
So I'm feeling pretty good about this. He doesn't seem interested in the attic any longer and he appears to be happy with his new home. But I've got a few questions.
1. He's always cut down a lot of cones from the pine and fir trees around the house. But this year it's really extraordinary how many he's dropping. (Maybe he thinks it's going to be a long winter!) We get a whole lot of snow here. I never noticed before, but I hear Douglas squirrels actually store their cones under the snow and tunnel down to get them. Is that true? I'm a little worried that I'm going to disturb his cache or collapse his tunnels when I use the snowblower.
2. I'd like to know what I can feed him. I assume pretty much any kind of nut is OK. Right now I've given him unsalted peanuts and pinenuts. (He prefers the pinenuts.) I read somewhere that you shouldn't give squirrels anything salted. But I've looked here, and I can't find a definitive confirmation. So is that true?
3. Assuming he’s as happy with his new nesting box as I’m thinking (hoping) he is, should I expect him to try to get back in the attic in the future? Or is that the kind of thing where as long as he has the nesting box he probably won’t go looking for anything else?
4. I’ve become really fascinated by this creature. Are there any books you would recommend for someone looking to educate himself about squirrels in general and Douglas squirrels in particular? (The more scientific and arcane the better!) I find myself wondering what his various calls mean, what his behaviors are all about and basically how he makes his way out there in the wilds of my backyard.
5. Is there anything I should definitely know or search for on these boards? I don’t intend to make him a pet (I guess it’s actually illegal in CA), but I’d like to see if I couldn’t make him a friendly neighbor.
Finally, there’s a picture below. It's a little dark, but I only see him there at dusk.
Thanks for your thoughts and help!
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y63/brl/DSC03520.jpg