They are the noisiest of squirrel species, with a huge range of calls they use warn other animals in the forest of dangers and approaching predators.ĭouglas squirrels live on seeds from trees like the Douglas Fir and Sitka Spruce, by peeling off each scale, discarding the scale and removing the seed. The local chipmunks (mostly Yellow-pine or Townsends chipmunks) reach torpor during the winter, snuggling in their nests for 5 to 7 days before coming out to find a food stash, but come spring-time they will be busy from just before sunrise until just after sunset, foraging and gathering food, filling their cheek pouches to carry the morsels to their hiding places.ĭouglas squirrels are very prevalent in the forested areas of the eastern Cascades and are active all year long.
The Douglas squirrel is dark brown on the back with an orange belly, and a pale orange ring around its eye (pictured), and they have a bushy tail that they flick wildly while loudly scolding intruders.Ĭhipmunks dont make as much noise as the Douglas squirrel, but they do chip-chip-chip, and make sounds often mistaken for birds. The easiest way to tell the difference between a chipmunk and a squirrel is their tail and color: Chipmunks have a thin tail and racing stripes and when they charge across the forest floor their little tail will point straight up in the air. Later in life I learned that what I saw most was a Douglas squirrel, but any time I see these critters, I think of my dad. When I was small and we would camp near Lake Chelan, my dad and I would challenge each other to be the first to spot the wildlife, and I would always see what I called "chickmunks" first.
0 kommentar(er)
