Flying Squirrels Need Tall Trees

Photo by Steve Young

Recently I was browsing the website of the Arlington Virginia Long Branch Nature Center when I spotted a link to this great  video about the Southern Flying Squirrel. Unable to resist watching the video, I learned that there are probably more Southern Flying Squirrels here in Arlington than regular grey squirrels. We just don't see them because they’re nocturnal. They live in pretty much the same backyard habitats as the grey squirrel. They need a hiding place, water and food. In the video, a staff member of the Long Branch Nature Center is demonstrating the behavior of the flying squirrel by showing how it will fly to a tree that has peanut butter smeared on it. In another Long Branch Nature Center video, you can see a flying squirrel up close. This is the resident flying squirrel that lives inside the Long Branch Nature Center. This squirrel was rescued and brought to the nature center in 2007.  He refuses to live in the wild. As a result, he is a wonderful learning resource for Arlington residents.

The Southern Flying Squirrel is the mascot of the Long Branch Nature Center, located in Arlington, Virginia. It’s on their brochure, and they lead night walks to spot the animals.   To learn more, I interviewed former Director of the Center (currently Director of Natural Resources for Arlington County), Alonso Abugattas, our resident expert on the Southern Flying Squirrel. 

The flying squirrels are smaller than grey squirrels. They have larger eyes to see better at night. And they’re more predatory. In addition to nuts, fruits and berries, they’ll eat animals, insects, eggs and carrion. Their favorite nuts are hickory nuts but they also like filberts and oak acorns. They don’t like walnuts so much because they’re hard to carry. They love suet and seeds from bird feeders.

Flying squirrels don’t actually fly. They glide from one tree to another.  They spread out their skin flaps, called a patagium, and catch the air like a parachute. They control the glide by banking.  They don’t use their tails to steer. Sometimes they wipe out on the ground if they miscalculate. For every two feet up, they can glide one foot out. The longest glide observed was 100 yards, off a tree and down a hillside.

Photo from "The Snag" Newsletter of Arlington VA Parks and Rec

Flying squirrels can build leaf nests (dreys) but they don’t like to live in them.  They prefer cavities in live trees, dead trees or snags. Keep your dead trees standing if possible and safe, or cut them down to a safer height, retaining the snag. They will also nest in bluebird boxes. They prefer to be at least 10 feet up.

During non-breeding season they hide together in cavities to keep warm. During breeding season they are incredibly secretive. They spread out in the woods. They prefer a habitat with big trees, larger, older trees that are spread out a bit, 20 feet apart or more.

In suburban areas, if there aren’t enough trees, they will take up residence in other areas such as bird boxes and attics.  This can be a problem because they run around at night and they chew.  If this happens, they’re easy to trap in “Have a Heart” traps with peanut butter as bait. 

To see flying squirrels in your yard, put peanut butter on a tree branch after the grey squirrels have gone to bed. I haven’t tried it yet but I will soon!

Plant and preserve native canopy trees so flying squirrels and other wildlife have a place to live. 

For more information on the Southern Flying Squirrel, check out the website of the Chesapeake Bay Program. There's also a fact sheet by the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia, that gives advice on how to provide food and shelter for the Souther Flying Squirrel by planting native berry shrubs and hickory trees.  Also plant butterfly host plants because they love to feast on caterpillars.

-Cory