Friends from both northern and southern Minnesota enjoy observing flying squirrels at their feeding stations. During summers about an hour after sunset, several arrive at their feeders to dine on peanut butter, raw peanuts and sunflower seeds. In winter they arrive soon after sunset. A spotlight doesn't keep them away.

Flying squirrels are about the same length as red squirrels but are half their weight. Being nocturnal animals, they have large eyes. They also have loose folds of skin between their front and hind legs. A flying squirrel will climb to a high branch and hurl itself into space, extending its four legs outward in a fixed position so that the flaps of skin are stretched like wings. Thus, flying squirrels don't actually fly but glide, always losing altitude, guiding themselves with their flat, bushy tail. Most glides are 25 to 50 feet and end at the trunk of another tree. Glides of more than 150 feet have been observed.

Surprisingly, flying squirrels are the most abundant of the squirrels in forested parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin. They are quite social. In winter as many as 30 of these squirrels have been found in one tree cavity.

Some other observations:

  • A month of great transition from the warm season to the cold, November often starts out like autumn, with lingering pockets of fall leaf colors, but ends up wintery. It brings long, chilly nights with glistening stars and hooting owls. Some days are clear with ocean-blue skies, while others are spread with clouds that produce some of the best sunrises and sunsets of the year.
  • Many oaks display beautiful copper to rich brown foliage. Some aspens and eastern cottonwoods continue to show golden-yellow leaves. American goldfinches, all now in their brownish winter dress, are numerous at many feeding stations.
  • Look for migrating waterfowl including American wigeons, northern pintails, canvasbacks, and tundra swans.
  • In 2019, small lakes in northern Minnesota were becoming ice-covered at this time. Clear Lake near Wirt in Itasca County froze over Nov. 4, Bear Lake near McGrath froze over Nov. 5, and Sibley Lake at Pequot Lakes iced over Nov. 6.

Jim Gilbert has taught and worked as a naturalist for more than 50 years.