Guardian Nature School Team Contact Blog Project Noah Facebook Project Noah Twitter

A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife

Join Project Noah!
nature school apple icon

Project Noah Nature School visit nature school

Eastern Gray Squirrel

Sciurus carolinensis

Description:

"As the name suggests, the eastern gray squirrel has predominantly gray fur but it can have a brownish color. It has a white underside and a large bushy tail. The head and body length is from 23 to 30 centimetres (9.1 to 12 in), the tail from 19 to 25 centimetres (7.5 to 9.8 in) and the adult weight varies between 400 and 600 grams (14 and 21 oz). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_gra...

Habitat:

"In the wild, eastern gray squirrels can be found inhabiting large areas of mature, dense woodland ecosystems, that generally cover 40 hectares of land. These forests usually contain large amounts of dense vegetation that provides sufficient amount of food sources and favorable shelters for eastern gray squirrels. Eastern gray squirrels generally prefer constructing their dens upon large tree branches and within the hollow trunks of trees. They also have been known to take shelter within abandoned bird nests. The dens are usually lined with moss plants, thistledown, dried grass, and feathers. These perhaps provide and assist in the insulation of the den, used to reduce heat loss. A cover to the den is usually built afterwards. Close to human settlements, eastern gray squirrels are found in parks and backyards of houses within urban environments and in the farmlands of rural environments. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_gra...

Notes:

This plump lil Gray Squirrel visited my porch railing today to enjoy a snack. This is one of a pair that has been hanging around this winter. I find their coloring very interesting in the winter, as it changes from mostly gray, to brown and gray. Until I took this picture, I hadn't realized how big and sharp their nails are.

Species ID Suggestions



Sign in to suggest organism ID

3 Comments

KarenL
KarenL 12 years ago

So do I - which is lucky for them given the quantity of sunflower seed they steal from my feeders! :)

Blueidone
Blueidone 12 years ago

Thanks Karen...I think that they are adorable :)

KarenL
KarenL 12 years ago

Lovely portrait!

Blueidone
Spotted by
Blueidone

South Paris, Maine, USA

Spotted on Jan 9, 2012
Submitted on Jan 10, 2012

Related Spottings

Gray Squirrel Red squirrel red squirrel Tree Squirel

Nearby Spottings

Ruby-throated Hummingbird Black-capped Chickadee Spotting Oak Leaf
Noah Guardians
Noah Sponsors
join Project Noah Team

Join the Project Noah Team