The Mount Rogers Fall Naturalist Rally is a little over a month away and we could not be more excited! Starting this week, we have opened pre-orders for the limited edition Fall Naturalist Rally t-shirt. Illustrated on the Rally shirt are the squirrels the Blue Ridge region. What signifies fall better than squirrels! They are the perfect fall mascot due to their abundance and increase in activity. This increased activity is due to their need to store food for the winter. The five native squirrel species are the Eastern Gray Squirrel, the Red Squirrel, the Fox Squirrel, the Northern Flying Squirrel, and the Southern Flying Squirrel.
If you’re interested in pre-ordering one of our Limited Edition Mount Rogers Fall Naturalist T-Shirts, click on the link and check out our Mount Rogers Fall Naturalist Rally page for more rally information to come!
Eastern Gray squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis carolinensis) are one of the most common squirrels in Virginia. They can be identified by their gray coat, white belly, and narrow tails. During this time of year, these squirrels spend a great deal of time hiding food in a variety of places so that they do not need to go into a full hibernation. Eastern Gray squirrels will be able to feast on their hidden sustenance all winter long since they tend to hide more food than necessary for survival. Due to this excess of food, these squirrels play a vital role in seed dispersal.
Red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus abieticola) are another common species in Virginia. These squirrels can be easily distinguished from the Gray and fox squirrel due to their reddish coat and small size. While other squirrels tend to favor tree nuts, the American Red squirrels tend to be more inclined to devour seeds and fungi. They are also known to steal from bird feeders since most are designed to prevent larger squirrels from invading the feed supply.
Fox squirrels (Sciurus niger niger) are the largest of the squirrel species in Virginia. They can be identified by their large size, brown/gray back fur, and orange belly. These squirrels follow the same food storage protocol that Gray squirrels follow, meaning that they also store an abundance of nuts in various locations in order to feed themselves throughout winter. These squirrels tend to be more social in comparison to other native squirrels and are likely to be found in neighborhoods or parks rather than trees.
Virginia Northern Flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus fuscus) are actually endangered, so their abundance in the area has declined. These squirrels can be identified by their brown coat with a gray belly and membrane-connected hind and fore legs. This membrane connection is what allows these squirrels to glide through the air from tree to tree. Northern flying squirrels can be distinguished from the southern flying squirrels by their vast difference in size. The northern flying squirrel is much larger in comparison to the southern flying squirrel. While these squirrels also store seeds for themselves to eat during the cold months, they also are able to feed on lichens and fungi, which makes them less reliant on storing seeds.
Southern Flying squirrels (Glaucomys volans volans) are slightly more abundant than the northern flying squirrels, but still prevalent in Virginia. These squirrels also have a grayish-brown coat along with a brown belly and membrane-connected hind and fore limbs. The Southern Flying squirrel can be distinguished from its fellow Virginia native flying squirrel, the northern flying squirrel, by its smaller size. These squirrels tend to feed on nuts and store these in various locations.
