Douglas squirrel

Description:

Small brown squirrel with a notably orange belly with a black band between the orange and the brown back. The tail is bushy but not as bushy as gray squirrels'.

Habitat:

Mature second growth conifer woods about 3 miles from the Pacific Ocean (as the crow flies), and at about 500 feet altitude. There are several 25' circumference sitka spruce trees that are bearing green cones that he claims. Here he is climbing down a western hemlock.

Notes:

These squirrels are very loud and persistent in telling you that you where their territory is. Hard to see in the large old trees, they can be mistaken by a visitor for a bird. They are strongly territorial; this one was defending "his" red huckleberry bush. They live so high in the trees (which are very tall) that I think they get their moisture from eating the juicy berries that grow in the understory.