Advice on Release Location

[Syd and Squeegee]

Hi fellow squirrel people!!

So, finally, my little man Squeegee is telling me he’s all ready to live his squirrely life in the wild! I overwintered him because he was just not at all ready last summer, but now he’s really come into his own aka I have to wear full safety gear to enter his room for food/water etc :grin So proud of him!

I wanted to get everyone’s advice about whether or not my property would make an okay release location. I’ve attached some photos to give you all an idea of what it looks like! Some are on-the-ground photos, but I’ve also included some bird’s eye views from Google Earth.

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This is from my house looking toward my back yard and barn. (Yes the fallen tree is staying, I won’t clear it because the wildlife LOVE it and I don’t wanna deprive them of good natural habitat! Plus I like to climb on it :grin )

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This is a view of my side yard and my neighbor’s yard leading to trees and a pond on the neighbor’s property.

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These are views from the back end of my property looking toward my house/barn.

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This is a photo through the bushes of the conifers on my neighbor’s property as well as a bird’s eye distance measurement from my house to those conifers.

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This one is a photo through the bushes of the conifers on my back neighbor’s property and that distance measurement to those conifers as well.

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And this is just an overall bird’s-eye-view of my property and the land it backs up to.

So, I know this post might be a little over-the-top lol, but I just feel unsure about whether this is an acceptable release spot. I have never seen a red squirrel nearby and have only seen maybe 2 grays so I do not think there would be a big issue with territory disputes. There are bushes lining the entire edge of my property but I worry about some of the openness in this area as it is a rural farm town. My property is 3 acres and has a few small conifers but the larger pines are situated on the properties of my side and back neighbors.

What do you guys think?

And if this isn’t a great release spot, how do I proceed with releasing somewhere that isn’t my property and isn’t where I live?

Thank you guys as always for any advice or opinions :-)

[Charley Chuckles]

Looks like a SQUIRREL heaven to me 🤗
I see squirrels living in parking lots at my local stores, I'm sure yours will be happy and they have lots of room👍

[CritterMom]

They really, really want to be in spruce/hemlock/cedar Christmas tree type trees. They use the dense "underskirt" of the lowest branches as a roof over their midden which can get to be several feet deep! Those trees also favor the growth of the mushrooms and other fungi that reds eat a lot of. Little trees don't offer that. I think they would likely disperse eventually in search of that. They really do favor the deep woods vs. "tree islands" whereas I think the grays actually prefer living among us.

[Syd and Squeegee]

They really, really want to be in spruce/hemlock/cedar Christmas tree type trees. They use the dense "underskirt" of the lowest branches as a roof over their midden which can get to be several feet deep! Those trees also favor the growth of the mushrooms and other fungi that reds eat a lot of. Little trees don't offer that. I think they would likely disperse eventually in search of that. They really do favor the deep woods vs. "tree islands" whereas I think the grays actually prefer living among us.

That was totally my thinking, that the sparse tree distribution would not be ideal :-(
So, being that he would likely disperse, do you think that I should seek out other avenues that would allow him to be released into a location from which he wouldn’t need to stray too far in order to establish a permanent territory? If so, how in the absolute heck do I do that (especially a soft release!) somewhere that isn’t my property and isn’t where I live? Oof!
As always, I so so so appreciate your guidance!

[Stevelisa]

I am also overwintering two reds since last year. In the wild the reds live mostly on spruce cones (the seeds in them), as well as mushrooms, etc. They need a nice little forest of mature spruce trees nearby to subsist on...or we continue on as their food source. I'm in somewhat of a similar situation, but in a suburb. A few spruce and pine trees among us and nearby neighbors, that they would love to climb, but not thick enough to subsist on. I regularly drive to the nearest thicket of spruce trees, a mile away, and collect the spruce cones on the ground. Keep them a bit damp in a bag so they dont open up, feed 1 every day to each of the 2 girls. They love the taste of them and its good chewing exercise. Also throw in some fresh spruce branches in their cage once a week... they chew all the needles off them and chew up the branches by end of the week. Just making the point that they love spruce. Still giving thought as to how to get them safely outside and what kind of a shelter.

[Mel1959]

A quandary for sure. My only advice would be to start calling licensed rehabbers within your general area and see if someone will release for you. It’s less than ideal, but reds have to be existing somewhere close by since both of you found them to raise.

[Spanky]

Fox or grey squirrel?

Foxers are good with "tree lines" while grey prefer stands of woods... I'd say 1/2 acre or more of a stand of woods... Just my experience.

[CritterMom]

Fox or grey squirrel?

Foxers are good with "tree lines" while grey prefer stands of woods... I'd say 1/2 acre or more of a stand of woods... Just my experience.

Spanky, these are little red "Jeffrey" squirrels.

[Spanky]

Spanky, these are little red "Jeffrey" squirrels.

In light of now knowing they are reds, I agree with posts about reds and trees...

(I had searched the thread for "grey", "gray" and "fox" after seeing the pics, but not thoroughly reading the thread :embar)