Last night, "something" hit the windchimes that hang off the double iron post with the bird feeder. The chimes are there because 1) they sound really nice on cool morning with a breeze and the windows open, 2) my wife really likes them, and 3) because they serve as an alarm system for me when critters get on the deck or feeder. Anyway...

The chimes started banging around a bit, and at 0330 it's pretty damned dark out. Up gets me, light in one hand and pistol in the other. I'm thinking it's likely a raccoon or a possum after the bird food, and either needs to not be there very quickly.

Light up the area with about 650 lumens, and a pair of these is what I see -



Cute little bastards, and not nearly enough of them around any longer. I chuckled, switched the light off, went back to bed, and hope they ate their fill. I won't be upset at all having them and theirs come by for a late night meal.

I went up for turkey to my buddy's camp in Pa. one time and they had a big feeder up on the deck. With the lights on at night it was a steady procession of flying squirrels working the night shift coming to that feeder. One thing I learned, is flying squirrels don't have good air brakes-man, they'd hit that feeder hard!

LMAO!

Yeah, I stayed in a cabin not too long ago that had a bunch of them in the roof. At night, they'd come into the cabin. Unbeknownst to me, the chair I was sleeping in was a regular landing strip for them. One landed on my chest, which certainly woke me up. It sitting there with those big black eyes staring at me with a "dude, where did you come from?" look was comical.

They were probably stumbling around out there in the dark for hours, unable to see a dang thing, after you hit them with that 650 lumen light.
The little buggers are cute, but they can mess up an attic and make a bunch of noise running around up there.

Yea, we've got a roof full of them at camp. They go apeshit when I get the fireplace going. Cute as they are, they need to GTFO.

Flying Squirrels? I always wondered what they looked like. We don't have those critters here. How big are they. I guess there a lot smaller than a Gray Squirrel. When I saw the picture, I thought it was a Chipmunk.

Where I deer hunt, I've got Fox Squirrels. They're as big as a cat.

One of my graduate students was studying niche partitioning in gray and fox squirrels in east Texas. One night he caught a very young flying squirrel in one of his live traps. He gave it to my daughters for a pet and we had it around for quite a while. After a few weeks, it had the run of the house when the girls were home, but it always went back in the cage at night, otherwise a good night's sleep was out of the question.

No, you have them where you are, you just don't see them. Think about half-way between a chipmunk and a gray squirrel for size reference. Really about the same size as a red squirrel, if you're familiar with those. They are as much smaller than a gray as a fox is larger.

I've heard they make pretty good pets, and that such a routine is mandatory.

I had one living in 3D elk target. I shot it and went to pull the arrows and a flying squirrel ran up my arm and jumped onto the tree beside it.

They are cute little guys.

Sean I think the pet versions are Australian Sugar Gliders...but FWIW I can't tell them apart.

I bet that caused a reaction!

Used to see them a lot when coon hunting.

It was fast! I jumped back and realized what it was at the same time. He stayed on the tree just watching me. I LMAO

Hmmm. You don't hear about many flying squirrels living in cities

We don't have them in Idaho, either. We only have 1 native tree squirrel, the red or pine squirrel and they're protected. We do have hordes of introduced fox squirrels and they can be shot any time where shooting is legal and there's no limit.

So I take it that they're nocturnal?

100% nocturnal. Very interesting little critter, too.

I had them living in the woods behind the house in Thurmont, Stonecutter. They'd glide over to the big maple tree right off the deck in the backyard just at dusk. They were fun to watch. Unfortunately they attracted the owls who were also fun to watch but very noisy!