Nature Notes
Readers Report Red Squirrels Wreak More Havoc Than Other Rodents
By Patricia Martin

This week, I thought I'd catch you up on some of the unusual sightings that some of our Islanders have experienced recently, and give you the results of my informal poll about the relative destructiveness of some rodents. We'll start with the poll.

If you're a regular reader of my column, you might recall that I did an article on the abundance of squirrels and chipmunks this year, and asked which rodent (red squirrel, gray squirrel, or Eastern chipmunk) is the most destructive.

The red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) won the poll, hands down. I was told all sorts of stories about our little red friends.

One dropped down on one of my friends from the rafters of a shed, and scared the heck out of the person.

Another reported that he had removed six of them from one house and had been worried about them chewing wiring.

A third was frustrated because the young red squirrels seemed to enjoy chewing on her tuberous begonias, and were destroying her plants.

One of the most amusing red squirrel stories involved one who managed to get into a cottage, and seemed to like the finer things in life. It went into the kitchen, of course, and started chewing a bag of expensive, dark roast coffee beans.

I didn't know that squirrels liked coffee, but maybe this one just needed a pick-me-up. (Red squirrels always seem hyper enough to me without a caffeine stimulant.)

I also think that these squirrels are trying to get back at me for writing about them. Not long ago, I discovered that a red squirrel had decided to move into my basement, and so far, I've been unable to catch it. By the time I found the squirrel, it had chewed the tops of a number of apples that I had stored in the basement.

These varmints never seem to just take one and eat it. No, they have to sample several of them first, and then they may actually eat a good portion of one. I've noticed the same behavior outside. Do they eat the apples that have already fallen onto the ground? No, they have to go up into the tree to get the nice ones, and try a few, before deciding on one to pick.

I've been having trouble trying to catch the little varmint. First, I borrowed a live trap and loaded it with peanut butter (I was told that crunchy works best). It certainly liked the peanut butter, but it apparently didn't weigh enough to spring the trap. It was a new trap, and rather stiff, so my uncle and I spent some time fiddling around with it and trying to loosen it up. It then seemed to be easier to spring, so I tried it again. Still, the peanut butter disappeared, and nothing was caught in the trap.

I discussed my woes with a friend, who made a couple of suggestions. He recommended putting the peanut butter in a can at the back of the trap, so that the squirrels have to work harder for it, thrashing around a bit, and perhaps springing the trap. So far, this has not worked.

The other thing he did was to lend me an old rat trap, which is larger than the conventional mouse trap. I again used peanut butter to bait the trap. Twice now I've heard the snap of the trap, but so far the wily beastie has avoided being caught. I will let you know when I conquer the beast.

The second piece of information that I would like to share happened last Friday. Twice in the same day, I had calls from friends on opposite sides of the Island, who had sighted a golden eagle.

One sighting was in the morning, on the west side near Woodbluff. This golden eagle was apparently hunting for something below the bluff, down by Brown's Brook. It was sitting on a tree branch near the cliff, its weight bending the branch, and then it made a sudden dive down. On its first dive, it apparently missed, and it repeated the process again. The second time, it may have been successful, as it did not return.

That same afternoon, I received a call from another friend on the east side, who had just seen a golden eagle overhead. Both callers commented on how large the bird was.

We've had sightings of golden eagles before on the Island, but they're rare. Generally speaking, these are western birds that breed in areas throughout western Canada and Alaska and in the very northern parts of Eastern Canada, and are permanent residents in the western United States.

Occasionally they've been seen passing through the Straits in the spring during their migration, but only once have I heard about one being here this time of year, and that was last summer, so maybe this golden eagle just thought to take another vacation here.

For those of you who've never seen one, these birds are very large, with wingspans of six to eight feet. They're similar in size to our bald eagles, which are much more common in our area. The females, as in many other birds of prey, are much larger than the males. Golden eagles have a black bill, yellow eye, and tawny-gold feathers on the crown of the head, nape, and sides of neck. The wing feathers, tail, and most of the other feathers are dark brown. Their feet are yellow.

These large birds require large territories, and a pair has been known to have a range of up to 60 square miles. They dive down on their prey, and have been clocked going more than 120 miles per hour in a steep glide, but it is estimated that they can reach speeds of more than 150 miles per hour.

These eagles favor rabbits, ground squirrels, marmot, grouse, and ptarmigan. They also eat large insects, other small mammals, carrion, and reptiles, including turtles. They've been known to attack full-grown deer, antelopes, and birds as large as a great horned owl.

It's always exciting to see bald eagles, but one feels especially lucky to see the sun glinting off the shiny head of the golden eagle. Maybe one of them could help me with my red squirrel problem.

Trish Martin is a yeararound resident of Mackinac Island, has earned a master's degree in botany from Central Michigan University, and owns Bogan Lane Inn.