The Secret in Your Backyard: Life Above Our Heads
The Secret in Your Backyard: Life Above Our Heads
Most of us are used to the frantic morning energy of the common gray squirrel, but as soon as the sun dips below the horizon, a second shift of acrobats takes over the trees. They aren’t just jumping—they’re soaring.
Living right above our heads is one of nature’s best-kept secrets: the flying squirrel.
The Night Shift
Unlike their daytime cousins, flying squirrels are strictly nocturnal. This is why you can live next to a colony for a decade and never know they are there. Evolution has equipped them with massive, soulful eyes designed to gather every bit of moonlight, allowing them to navigate dense forests in near-total darkness.
Not Flying, but Falling with Style
Despite the name, flying squirrels don't actually fly like birds or bats. Instead, they are masters of the glide.
The Patagium: This is the "cape"—a furry, parachute-like membrane that stretches from their wrists to their ankles.
The Tail: Their tail is flat and acts like a rudder, allowing them to make sharp 90-degree turns mid-air to avoid predators like owls.
The Distance: A single "flight" can cover over 150 feet (about 45 meters), though they’ve been known to stretch that even further when the height is right.
High-Altitude Neighbors
These tiny daredevils prefer the "penthouse" suites of the forest. They nest high up in tree cavities—often abandoned woodpecker holes—where they are safe from ground-dwelling predators. In the winter, they are surprisingly social; it’s common for a dozen or more squirrels to huddle together in a single nest to share body heat.
Next time you’re outside at dusk and hear a soft thump against a tree trunk or see a shadow drift silently across the moon, look up. You might just catch a glimpse of the neighborhood's most elusive resident.
