Eastern Gray Squirrel

Description:

Light underbelly, grizzled gray above, these arboreal squirrels are common in our area.

Habitat:

Forested areas, but are very common in many suburban and even urban areas, including parks and residential areas.

Notes:

These three youngsters are exploring outside their nest for probably the first time. They are the benefactors of being well-sheltered in the eaves of my backyard tool shed and had a very nice nest made up of the bags that once held charcoal briquettes. Mom apparently thought that charcoal purified paper was just the nesting material she needed. Now that they have left the nest, I'll have to patch a hole in the shed and pick up the briquettes.