Behavior of The Eastern Gray Squirrel

Objective: To observe the activity and foraging behavior of the squirrels in a residential area vs. a more natural setting, as well as to determine if behaviors differ at different times of day.

Procedure: The habitats to be observed were my back yard and a small part of Cherokee Park. The features of these habitats were documented and the squirrels of these areas were observed in the morning, afternoon, and evening.

Back yard observations: This area consisted of one isolated Maple tree, and another Maple tree neighbored by two smaller unknown trees. There were three nests: one in each of the trees that were closest to each other. The undergrowth was mainly grassy. Aside from the natural food supply (plants, seeds etc.), there were two man made sources of food. They were open garbage cans and a bird feeder. Two squirrels visited the yard on a regular basis. In the early morning hours (between 7 and 9a.m.) the squirrels were relatively inactive, unless the morning was unusually warm. The main activity of the squirrels was seen between 10a.m. and 1p.m. During this time they were observed to be feeding and burying food for the majority of the time. A great deal of their feeding was done in the open garbage cans, but they still foraged for other types of food throughout the yard. On two occasions they were seen taking material from the garbage back to their nests. The squirrels also had a tendency to chase each other around the yard and through the trees, but this behavior did not seem to be aggressive, although I am not sure what they were doing. During this most active time of day the animals the animals were rarely seen to leave their "home range" which consisted of my back yard and a neighboring yard. When feeding, only one of the animals would occupy a certain part of the yard at a time. Two squirrels were never seen feeding in close proximity to one another. Usually after 2 or 3p.m. their activity decreased, and they were observed to just sit on a tree limb in a higher part of the tree for periods of time. In the early evening, their feeding and general activity picked up slightly. Virtually no activity was ever observed at night.

Park observations: The habitat here was much different. There was a much denser population of trees for nesting, and there was a creek close by. The few nests that I did observe were concentrated in trees that were closest to the creek. There seemed to be a much steadier rate of activity throughout the day, but there was still a slight trend toward heightened activity in the late morning and early afternoon. Their behaviors when active were similar to those of the back yard squirrels, in that they spent the majority of their time foraging, feeding and burying food. I did not see them engaging in any chasing activity as I did in the yard. Nor did I observe any noticeable territorial or blatantly aggressive behaviors.

Conclusions: By plotting the percentage of time that the squirrels were active during an observation period of two hours over a combined 12 hour span that encompassed my observation times, an activity graph was created for each habitat(attached). The graph for the back yard showed that activity increased in the morning, decreased in the late afternoon, increased again in the evening and almost stopped at night. The park graph on the other hand showed a steady range of activity throughout the day with a sharp decrease in activity at night. I believe that the reason for the difference in activity in the two areas is because of food supply. In the back yard the squirrels had a regular source of food (i.e. the trash and the bird feeder), which might allow them to have some rest during the day, whereas the park inhabitants may have to forage longer and at a steadier rate for the whole day in order to get their fill. Activity in the park might have appeared to be more steady while the higher population of squirrels here could’ve influenced that data, as I was not able to observe the same squirrels each time as I could in the back yard.