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Flying squirrel visits a Warfield back yard

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Alan Karges set up his tripod last week and was able to capture a photo of this flying squirrel post-flight. The image is slightly grainy due to the low light. Photo: Alan Karges

Alan Karges has lived in Warfield for more than 40 years and his wife Rose has lived in the area all her life, but this is the first time either of them have seen a flying squirrel.

So they thought their photo of this elusive visitor would be of interest to Trail Times readers, and is it ever.

“Rose saw the flying squirrel for the first time about a week ago,” says Alan. “She wasn’t sure what she saw, only that it looked squirrel-like and it was gliding from our deck down towards the ground. We thought it must be a flying squirrel but we didn’t know they could be found in this area.”

The Karges did an internet search and discovered that the Pteromyini or Petauristini - better known as the flying squirrel - does in fact inhabit this region.

Flying squirrels are nocturnal so the Karges’ kept checking their bird feeder after dark and eventually spotted their little guest having a nibble.

Since then they have seen it two more times.

“We think that the squirrel has been visiting all fall,” said Alan. “We have been wondering about overnight squirrel prints in the snow on a couple of occasions, because we didn’t think the grey squirrels that we usually see are out during the night.”

Flying squirrels are really gliding squirrels. They have flaps of skin that stretch between the front and hind legs that act like a wing allowing them to jump further than a regular squirrel. They also have larger eyes than grey squirrels, allowing them to see at night.

Read more: What you see …

Read more: What you see …



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Sheri Regnier

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