Inspecting inside of ceiling above the entrance. One or more curled-up
squirrels can be partially seen in the nest below it. (new camera)
Eating a nut. Over the past few days it has been in the teens at night.
2 hrs after this photo it was 16F. This is the first time since
I installed a camera on Dec 22, 2002
that I've seen them with food inside of the box. I'm guessing that if the box
gets too many nut shells and squirrel droppings, they will leave. In the past,
all of the empty nests I've found had lots of overall
waste material near them.
Compare the dark build-up/staining around the ledge at the
far left with photos from early January.
(new camera)
Hanging on ledge. Side view.
(new camera)
Greeting or feeding each other? It is tough to tell.
(new camera)
Quickly entering.
When they leave the box, they take their time, sometimes waiting for 3 minutes
while half-way in the entrance. When entering, they quickly scurry through the
entrance passage so the photos appear with a motion blur.
This is probably because they cannot not see if danger is behind them.
Additionally, they might not want to advertise the location of their home by
moving slowly.
In over 3 weeks, I only captured photos of this speedy entering on Jan 20 and after,
during a cold spell. The cold must slow them down.
Front half is in the entrance. The back left foot is clinging ot the top of the wall
and the tail is bracing against the other wall. (new camera)
Inspecting more of the box above the entrance. This one looks like it is young. (new camera)
Examples of variations in appearance. I don't yet know what causes these.
(new camera)
Dark-furred variation.
This one has both a dark back and tail (fig A), and
also appears dark in a later photo.
I have compared this photo against
other recent photos with the same brightness settings.
The Flyers I know of that have the darkest fur on their backs also have
lighter and thinning tail fur (fig B).
(new camera)
2 w/dark fur & thin white tails.
The one on the left is definitely a female. On march 16, 2003 I observred it dreaming,
much a like a sleeping dog would;
It's mouth and whiskers moved, it had periods of rapid and jerky breathing,
and it's legs were twitching as if it were dreaming about running and eating.
I was only able to notice this in clear detail after
I switched the web cam feed over to my VCR, which I can't get to record anything.
(new camera)
Unusually dark eyes.
I believe this is the same one shown in one of the above photos labeled: "Large and Chubby".
My guess is that the April 13, 2003 change in the eyes is either due to giving birth
or because it might be sick.
(new camera)