Since we are discussing non-avian species at the moment, then, I'd like to tell about a sighting I made last night.

While sitting in the house last night with the windows open, I kept hearing a short whistle, like a young fledgling bird calling. I couldn't figure out what was making the sound, so I went outside, and discovered it was a flying squirrel flattened out on the trunk of a water oak next to the porch, facing down the tree. It (She) kept calling and was joined within minutes by another flying squirrel (obviously a male from the ensuing action).

Anyway, this is the first time I've heard flying squirrels call, and certainly the first time I've seen reproductive behavior in these critters. They were not distracted by my presence or the presence of my dogs in the fenced yard about 10 feet from the tree.

If I put up a nest box on this tree, what are the odds I can get the squirrels to nest in the box? Or do you think that since the squirrels were mating, they already have a nest site picked out?

Greg Lee gregory.lee@moody.af.mil > -----Original Message----- > From: Thom Harrison [SMTP:tharriso@CENNET.MC.PEACHNET.EDU] > Sent: Friday, March 19, 1999 4:43 AM > To: GABO-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU > Subject: [GABO-L] Non-avian species > > Birders, > > For what it's worth again, I get most of my birding and other nature study > vicariously from the net these days. I teach English, so I don't have > much > excuse to play in the woods. My interest hasn't slackened, but > opportunity > is much reduced. > > I look forward to the sightings posted here, and to the RBAs. I send the > RBAs and other items of interest--including the pocket gopher > stuff--around > to other people on campus who have expressed an interest. > > Birds seem to generate more interest on the whole than other species--for > one thing, they're easier to see and abundant. So I don't think pocket > gophers are in any danger of chasing birds off GABO-L. > > As far as I'm concerned, bring on the pocket gophers, frogs, > salamanders--er, the slippery kind--whenever there's a need. I may not be > able to help, but I'm always interested. > > Thanks for listening. > > TCH > > Thom Harrison > Division of Humanities > Macon State College > 100 College Station Drive > Macon, GA 31206-5144 > tharriso@cennet.mc.peachnet.edu > http://www.faculty.mc.peachnet.edu/harrison/