realized that a red squirrel was cutting cones from the branches of our Norway spruce tree, and the cones were falling on our carriage shed’s metal roof. The ground underneath the tree was covered with the green cones. I explained to my family that the red squirrel would carry the green cones to the base of a tree, where they would be mixed with needles, grasses and leaves and placed in a pile. These piles of cones sometimes reach a height of three feet. This is how the little red squirrel puts in his cache of food for the winter. The correct name for the red squirrel’s food cache is a “midden”. Our daughter-in-law, Amy, commented that the cones were still green, and she wondered why the little squirrel didn’t wait until the cones had ripened. My answer was that the green cones assured the red squirrel that the seeds were still
inside the cones and will stay fresh for a longer period of time while in the midden.
The seeds of conifer cones are the main food source for the red squirrel.
To harvest these cones, the red squirrel clambers about the branches of balsam firs, larches, white cedars, pines and spruces, while cutting green cones. The ground becomes littered with the green cones before the squirrel finally descends to retrieve the cones. The squirrel carries one cone at a time, to bury in one or several middens in its territory.here to edit.
Other important foods include the buds, inner bark, sap, nuts and seeds of deciduous trees and shrubs. Fungi and fleshy fruits also form a large part of the red squirrel’s summer diet, with the surplus carried aloft to dry among twigs or wedged between branches.
The red squirrel’s appearance varies seasonally. The little red squirrel we watched that morning was already sporting its winter coat. During the winter months, the little squirrel sports reddish brown ear tufts and a bright rusty red stripe along its back. The black lines along the sides are usually faint or absent, and the under-parts become either a silvery gray or white. During the summer months, the red squirrel’s coat turns to a paler, reddish to olive gray coat that includes a black line along each side, with dark colored lines and creamy white under-parts. A white eye-ring is present in all seasons.
The red squirrel, which is sedentary, solitary and promiscuous, defends its territory, even driving off gray squirrels that venture into its territory. During the breeding season, males will wander from their territories while looking for females. A female, in estrous, will permit the males encroachment in her territory.
While taking a walk in the woods, have you ever been scolded by a red squirrel? A red squirrel is known as the “crow” of the mammal world because of its slightly unsavory actions of being a busybody and scolding every intruder that comes its way.
Red squirrels nest in tree cavities. If none are available, a red squirrel will build an exterior nest by laying a platform of sticks across several branches and then weave an outer shell made up of leaves and twigs.
The red squirrel's scientific name is Tamiasciurus hudsonicus. Tamis is Greek and means one who stores food; a horder and also the generic name of the chipmunk. Sciurus means a squirrel. By combining the two names (a chipmunk-sized squirrel), an impression of the size is given. The hudsonicus means belonging to Hudson Bay area; however, the red squirrel is not confined to that area and is widespread in North America.
Although the game commission lists the red squirrel as a game animal, there are few bagged to be eaten. I read in one book that red squirrel meat has the taste of pine oil; however, since I've never tasted red squirrel meat, I have no idea if this is true. Although the red squirrel does not have many human hunters, it does have a long list of gun-less hunters. Topping the list are: hawks, bobcats, coyotes, weasels and both the red and gray fox.
At any rate, I was glad to see the squirrel carrying the spruce cones away (one at a time) because this is one less job for me to do. Since red squirrels are known for invading barns, outbuildings and even homes, I was hoping it wouldn’t stay in our yard but I guess it’s here for the winter.