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Van the Squirrel
This is the story of Van. One day my husband Bob was driving down a road near our house, when he saw something in the road that at first glance looked like a stick. But then it moved, and he swerved to avoid it. When he stopped, he saw a woman in the road trying to rescue some tiny squirrels that appeared to have fallen from their nest. There was no sign of an adult squirrel.
One of the babies was already dead. The other two didn't look good, but Bob put both in a box and drove immediately up to Flat Rock Brook Nature Center. The wildlife person there took one baby who seemed like he would not make it. Sadly, he was already cold and almost dead, but they would try to help him. The person recommended a wildlife rehabilitator, who lived about 25 minutes away, for the other squirrel. Bob named this other little fellow Van.
As Bob rushed Van over to the rehab place, he put a few lettuce leaves into the box for Van that he had grabbed from home. Van began to nibble on the leaves and looked up at Bob as if to say "thank you for saving me." Bob said he will never forget that look of gratitude. They arrived at Carol the rehabilitator's house, and she immediately gave Van a hot bath to warm him up. She told Bob that if Van made it through the next few days, she would need about 2 months to rehab him. Once that happened, we would take him back, and he would live in our yard.
We called Carol in a few days and learned that Van had pulled through. Now he needed some careful attention and nurturing. He was so tiny, as you can see from the photos in the album. Bob needed to build a squirrel box that would become Van's home in our yard. The box had specific dimensions, and Bob set to building it. About one week before Van was to come home, we took the box over to Carol's house so Van could get used to his new home and build a nest in there with leaves, etc, that Carol provided. We got to see our little baby too!
One week later, we picked Van up from Carol's house and brought him home. It was a hot day, and it took Bob a while to set up the wires and properly secure the box to a tree about 15 feet above the ground. Van was restless, because the box's entry/exit hole had to be sealed up until we could properly release him. I was talking to Van the whole time in a very soothing voice to keep him calm and reassured. Finally the wires were in place and the box was ready to be secured. Again, I kept talking to him the whole time. At last, the box was up, and the moment had arrived.
We took the piece of tape off the hole, sat down on the patio chairs with a camera in hand, and waited. Look at the photos. You can see one tiny paw appearing over the hole. That was the first photo of Van in his new home. Then Van peeked his head out. And then he got the nerve to crawl out of his box and be in the wild for the very first time in 2 months. Also, this was the first time he ever climbed a tree in his life. He tentatively crawled up the tree trunk and onto a horizontal limb. He kept looking back to his box and then to us and back to his box, as if to say, "Can I REALLY come and go as I please?" Then he started racing up and down the limb and climbing higher and higher. Check out the photos...they show the whole process.
I was nervous that he would not come back or that he would hurt himself. He was very unsteady and needed to learn how to jump and run and not stumble or fall. As dusk approached, we saw Van go back into the box, and we said goodnight to him. I was terribly worried about him and wondered if he was anxious or lonely. The next morning I ran outside and waited. And there he was peeking out of the box! We had nailed a container of food under his box, so he had a supply of nuts, which we gradually decreased as he learned to find food by himself. We provided a water bowl on the patio too. Almost every day we saw Van in the box for many months. He was so accustomed to me and my voice that he would run over to me every morning and sit right beside me as he ate.
After a while he vacated the box and apparently built another nest in or near the yard. But he still ran up to me almost every day. A very clear marking on Van was a dark line down the center of his nose (see photos). His face was very dark too, more brown than gray. So I always knew it was him. Soon though he visited less frequently, or maybe he was there all along but I didn't see him every time. I am not 100 percent sure what happened to Van. He may still be alive and living near here. There are times when I think I see him, but I just can't be sure. I know I see a squirrel that looks a lot like him, and maybe he has just become more wild and less tame, so he won't approach me like he used to. No matter what, his legacy lives on. During the time he was with us every day, Bob and I witnessed him on the patio with a female squirrel with a red tail who we named Charly. That was the one and only time we ever saw squirrels going at it!
About 9 weeks later, 3 little squirrels all with red tails appeared in the yard. We named them Happy, Bling, and Bubbles. Bubbles is still with us! One of those offspring also had 2 babies, Peter and Piper, also with red tails! One of the others had a single baby named Pickles, who had a red tail too. So all of these guys and girls come from Van and Charly. No matter what, Van is with us always!
One of the babies was already dead. The other two didn't look good, but Bob put both in a box and drove immediately up to Flat Rock Brook Nature Center. The wildlife person there took one baby who seemed like he would not make it. Sadly, he was already cold and almost dead, but they would try to help him. The person recommended a wildlife rehabilitator, who lived about 25 minutes away, for the other squirrel. Bob named this other little fellow Van.
As Bob rushed Van over to the rehab place, he put a few lettuce leaves into the box for Van that he had grabbed from home. Van began to nibble on the leaves and looked up at Bob as if to say "thank you for saving me." Bob said he will never forget that look of gratitude. They arrived at Carol the rehabilitator's house, and she immediately gave Van a hot bath to warm him up. She told Bob that if Van made it through the next few days, she would need about 2 months to rehab him. Once that happened, we would take him back, and he would live in our yard.
We called Carol in a few days and learned that Van had pulled through. Now he needed some careful attention and nurturing. He was so tiny, as you can see from the photos in the album. Bob needed to build a squirrel box that would become Van's home in our yard. The box had specific dimensions, and Bob set to building it. About one week before Van was to come home, we took the box over to Carol's house so Van could get used to his new home and build a nest in there with leaves, etc, that Carol provided. We got to see our little baby too!
One week later, we picked Van up from Carol's house and brought him home. It was a hot day, and it took Bob a while to set up the wires and properly secure the box to a tree about 15 feet above the ground. Van was restless, because the box's entry/exit hole had to be sealed up until we could properly release him. I was talking to Van the whole time in a very soothing voice to keep him calm and reassured. Finally the wires were in place and the box was ready to be secured. Again, I kept talking to him the whole time. At last, the box was up, and the moment had arrived.
We took the piece of tape off the hole, sat down on the patio chairs with a camera in hand, and waited. Look at the photos. You can see one tiny paw appearing over the hole. That was the first photo of Van in his new home. Then Van peeked his head out. And then he got the nerve to crawl out of his box and be in the wild for the very first time in 2 months. Also, this was the first time he ever climbed a tree in his life. He tentatively crawled up the tree trunk and onto a horizontal limb. He kept looking back to his box and then to us and back to his box, as if to say, "Can I REALLY come and go as I please?" Then he started racing up and down the limb and climbing higher and higher. Check out the photos...they show the whole process.
I was nervous that he would not come back or that he would hurt himself. He was very unsteady and needed to learn how to jump and run and not stumble or fall. As dusk approached, we saw Van go back into the box, and we said goodnight to him. I was terribly worried about him and wondered if he was anxious or lonely. The next morning I ran outside and waited. And there he was peeking out of the box! We had nailed a container of food under his box, so he had a supply of nuts, which we gradually decreased as he learned to find food by himself. We provided a water bowl on the patio too. Almost every day we saw Van in the box for many months. He was so accustomed to me and my voice that he would run over to me every morning and sit right beside me as he ate.
After a while he vacated the box and apparently built another nest in or near the yard. But he still ran up to me almost every day. A very clear marking on Van was a dark line down the center of his nose (see photos). His face was very dark too, more brown than gray. So I always knew it was him. Soon though he visited less frequently, or maybe he was there all along but I didn't see him every time. I am not 100 percent sure what happened to Van. He may still be alive and living near here. There are times when I think I see him, but I just can't be sure. I know I see a squirrel that looks a lot like him, and maybe he has just become more wild and less tame, so he won't approach me like he used to. No matter what, his legacy lives on. During the time he was with us every day, Bob and I witnessed him on the patio with a female squirrel with a red tail who we named Charly. That was the one and only time we ever saw squirrels going at it!
About 9 weeks later, 3 little squirrels all with red tails appeared in the yard. We named them Happy, Bling, and Bubbles. Bubbles is still with us! One of those offspring also had 2 babies, Peter and Piper, also with red tails! One of the others had a single baby named Pickles, who had a red tail too. So all of these guys and girls come from Van and Charly. No matter what, Van is with us always!
Happy
Happy was one of three children of Van and Charly. All three had very red tails. Happy inhabited Van's squirrel box during the fall and winter of 2006 into the spring of 2007. She became very accustomed to me and would often come up very close to me when I fed everyone each morning. When she reached almost a year old, her tail (like her siblings too) started to change from red to gray from the base up. Unfortunately I never got to see the full tail tranformation. On May 27, 2007, I left my house in my car to go birding. I hadn't seen Happy that morning. As I made the turn out of my road, there she lay in the road. I raced back home in tears, and Bob came with me as we took her little body and buried her in the backyard. It looked like she had fallen from a wire running over the road, because there was no evidence of her being hit by a car. Bob made a very nice grave site for her, and I still talk to her every day. I miss her because she was so friendly and tame, but she is with us in spirit.
Bubbles
It is with sadness that I have decided to move Bubbles to the "Past Yard Visitors" page. I have not seen Bubbles since before this past winter. Bubbles the squirrel was one of a litter of three children of Van and Charly. He could be distinguished from all other squirrels by his very dark face. He used to have a very red tail (just as his siblings Bling and Happy had), but when he reached the age of about 1 year old, his tail slowly changed color from the base of the tail up. As it grew out and turned gray, only the very tip was red. Bubbles was a very friendly squirrel. I hope he simply moved on to find another territory. I'll miss him!
Peek-A-Boo
Peek-A-Boo nested in Van's former squirrel box house this past winter of 2007-2008. He moved out as of the summer though, but he could very well still be in the yard. He loved to stick his head out of the entrance hole and just watch all the happenings in the yard. A new squirrel named Boxer has moved in.
Tough Guy
Tough Guy is a roughed-up boy who looks like he was in a fight or two. He has half a tail and his face is a bit battered, but he's so friendly. He used to come very close to me and wait while I threw the peanuts on the ground for him and the other squirrels. What a cutie! I miss Tough Guy...he hasn't been around since the beginning of the summer. Hopefully he just moved to a new neighborhood.
TJ
TJ was a White-throated Sparrow who visited my yard for about one month straight last spring during migration. He definitely hung around a lot longer than any other "winter" bird, but I guess he liked the food supply. He was also had the brightest, most defined feathers I've ever seen on a White-throat. They are pretty blurry photos but the only ones I got.
Sharp-shinned Hawk
This guy (or gal) visited us in early 2007, but we have many hawks (especially Sharpies, Cooper's Hawks, and Red-tailed Hawks) that like to come and feed on the unsuspecting pigeons and sparrows at the feeders. This one grabbed a sparrow right after the photo was taken through our window. Lightening fast!
Bling
Bling was another child of Van and Charly. Again, he had a beautiful red tail and was a very friendly squirrel, but not as tame as Van and Happy. I'm not sure if Bling decided to go make a home in another area or if he died, but around the same time as Happy's demise, Bling pretty much disappeared from the yard. Only Bubblesremains in the yard of the three offspring of Van and Charly.
Jesse
Jesse was the first squirrel I really took any notice of in the yard, because he had NO TAIL. None. Nothing. Zip. I've read that the squirrel's tail performs many functions, including balance and cover in inclement weather. Jesse seemed absolutely unaffected by his shortcoming. He could jump long distances from one tree to the next with complete confidence. He was a little racer, and you could easily spot him as he zoomed around. After almost a year and a half of observing him, I noticed his leg had become seriously injured. He had a bad limp, and I feared it would mean the end. Any sign of weakness and he would be food for larger prey. I didn't see him for about three weeks after that, and I knew the worst had happened...but to my surprise he appeared looking almost better. It was a nice, sunny day, and Jesse hopped around the yard looking for food. As dusk approached, I saw him hop off farther and farther away, and somehow I knew that would be the last time I saw him. And it was. I think Jesse came back just to show me he was OK, and maybe he wanted to say goodbye. I always still think about him.
Vertigo
Vertigo was a squirrel who fed in the yard for almost a year and was afflicted with some strange muscle or nervous system problem that made him lean to one side and fall over a lot. When he hunted around the ground for nuts I threw out for the squirrels, he tilted his head to one side and used one nostril. Once he got a peanut, he would stand on his hind legs, start eating, and then fall to the side and have to continue to try to stabilize himself until he finished. He was obviously able to sustain himself, but one day he just stopped showing up, and I don't know what happened to him.