I finally caught the flying squirrel in the act. Now that the winter weather has arrived he’s been visiting one of my squirrel-proof feeders every evening after dark. He doesn’t weigh enough to trigger the squirrel-proof action, so he can snack on all the shelled sunflower seeds he wants.
Flying squirrels have a membrane between their front and back legs that lets them glide through the air between trees. According to the National Wildlife Federation, they can travel up to 150 feet in just one glide.
Over the last 30 years I’ve seen only a couple of flying squirrels while walking after dark in our neighborhood. This is the first one I’ve ever known to hang out in our backyard regularly.
And my friend lives less than a mile away from us and she has captured videos of a flying squirrel visiting her feeders each night too.