Hunting Washington Forum

Other Hunting => Coyote, Small Game, Varmints => Topic started by: Axle on March 11, 2010, 02:31:42 PM

Title: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: Axle on March 11, 2010, 02:31:42 PM: My son saw one the other day while cutting down a tree. He was in it and the flying squirrel launched out of it right by him and hit him on the way out. I was surprised to hear of it but then I remembered that they are nocturnal which is why we don't see them much anyway.

According to the wildlife department, they live in most of our state.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/wgraysquirrels/index.htm (http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/diversty/soc/wgraysquirrels/index.htm)
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: h2ofowlr on March 11, 2010, 02:33:51 PM: Nope. I have scene those black squirrels. Not sure what type those are.
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: Smokepole on March 11, 2010, 02:34:20 PM: I've seen a few. We had one soar over our campfire once in the Okanogan one deer season. Saw one on the west side a few years back, but thats about it.
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: Big10gauge on March 11, 2010, 03:39:21 PM: Lots of them in the NE corner. Just at dusk they start coming out. Kinda neat to look at with their big eyes. Sometimes they get in the cabin but it's real easy to pick them up, just shine a flashlight in their eyes and they won't move.
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: Curly on March 11, 2010, 03:57:41 PM: Yep....seen a few in Eastern WA over 30 years ago. I can't even remember where exactly but I do remember seeing the little buggers sailing out of the trees. Pretty cool.
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: CastleRocker on March 11, 2010, 03:58:03 PM: Yep, used to see them about once or twice a year when I was falling timber. I'm sure there were a lot I didn't see.
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: Axle on March 11, 2010, 04:44:40 PM: Funny thing - I usually hike in the dark when I am in the woods and there is a little light to see. This drives some of my buddies absolutely crazy but I like using my own eyesight whenever possible. Anyway, I hear squirrels all the time at night. I just don't shine them to see them. I guess now I can figure some of them to be flying squirrels since they are active at night.

I do know that I have seen Douglas squirrels active at night but usually only on dry warm nights and at higher elevations only.
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: bow4elk on March 11, 2010, 04:50:00 PM: Yes! I had one of the black beady-eyed buggers come sailing off a branch above my head one day when I was burning brush at my folks house in Gig Harbor. First and only one I've ever seen. I walked right up to it before it took flight. It glided all the way across our driveway into the wooded area behind our wood piles. I ran over there and it scurried up a tree.
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: jackelope on March 11, 2010, 04:58:22 PM: My dad used to have a pet flying squirrel way back when. He said it was a great pet.

:dunno:

I've never seen one.
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: runamuk on March 11, 2010, 05:05:46 PM: The horse barns I worked at on the Redmond plateau were notorious for flyers in the barn or tack room....crazy little freaks...lol
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: turkey buster on March 11, 2010, 05:12:52 PM: when I was a kid my stepdad who was a logger brought a pair of them home from work one day we kept them as pet's, I also saw one once when I was logging, they are very cool little critters.
chuck
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: boneaddict on March 11, 2010, 05:18:01 PM: I've seen only two.
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: Pathfinder101 on March 11, 2010, 05:52:54 PM: Saw one when I was a kid in the pine trees behind our school. I think I was in 5th or 6th grade. We followed it around for the whole lunch hour (as best we could). Was definitely a flying squirrel.
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: Ray on March 11, 2010, 05:54:22 PM: Flying squirrels. Sounds like good target practice.
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: jackelope on March 11, 2010, 05:55:02 PM: Quote from: Ray on March 11, 2010, 05:54:22 PM
Flying squirrels. Sounds like good target practice.

pull....
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: WDFW-SUX on March 11, 2010, 05:58:54 PM: Quote from: jackelope on March 11, 2010, 04:58:22 PM
My dad used to have a pet flying squirrel way back when. He said it was a great pet.

:dunno:

I've never seen one.

Bigfoot has one as a pet too!
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: coonhound on March 11, 2010, 06:08:43 PM: Years ago I was falling timber out near Mossyrock, it was a 200 acre patch of alder and maple. Some these maples were huge, you'd fall them and sometimes 5 or 6 flying squirrels would come gliding out. The odd thing is often they would run back and perch on the stump, made ya feel kinda bad for the little buggers. Other than that job I've only seen one...it was in a tree near my back yard.

Coon
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: seaduckhunter on March 11, 2010, 06:08:59 PM: High School field trip on Mt. Pilchuck the teacher would take a big stick and hit under the holes of hollow trees in the old growth and he finally scared out one and it glided to the nearest tree to hide pretty cool. Guess there is quite of few of them out there.
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: Pathfinder101 on March 11, 2010, 06:09:32 PM: Quote from: WDFW-SUX on March 11, 2010, 05:58:54 PM
Quote from: jackelope on March 11, 2010, 04:58:22 PM
My dad used to have a pet flying squirrel way back when. He said it was a great pet.

:dunno:

I've never seen one.

Bigfoot has one as a pet too!

Yes, but his is a Great White Wooly Sabertooth Flying Cave Squirrel...
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: the shootist on March 11, 2010, 06:30:20 PM: I saw one in estern wa. about 15 or 20 years ago up by eloika lake. pretty cool
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: Rack on March 11, 2010, 06:41:55 PM: Me and a buddy were looking at a big muddy elk wallow, heard this wooosh and then splat,
a douglas squirrel must of misssd his branch and flew, straight down, hit two ft in front of us
we looked at him stuck in the mud tryin to get out. looked at each other and started laughing.
he got out and took off.
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: Mudeater on March 11, 2010, 07:00:13 PM: Quote from: coonhound on March 11, 2010, 06:08:43 PM
Years ago I was falling timber out near Mossyrock, it was a 200 acre patch of alder and maple. Some these maples were huge, you'd fall them and sometimes 5 or 6 flying squirrels would come gliding out. The odd thing is often they would run back and perch on the stump, made ya feel kinda bad for the little buggers. Other than that job I've only seen one...it was in a tree near my back yard.

Coon
Saw a bunch like that on a sale we were cutting on one of the old sol duck units. One came out of a tree and hit one of the green horns we had that was buckin for me that day, poor guy about crapped himself, fell down thinking he got shmucked by a widowmaker, I about pissed my self I was laughing so hard
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: coriantonk on March 11, 2010, 11:31:54 PM: When I was A kid we lived outside Orting and our Golden Lab caught one and brought it to us. We had that thing for about a year, kept it in an old 5 foot tall bird cage. Every so often it would escape and climb up on the mantle above the wood stove and then glide across the living room. It really freaked out the cat for a while. :chuckle:
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: jdb on March 12, 2010, 06:32:50 PM: Quote from: Ray on March 11, 2010, 05:54:22 PM
Flying squirrels. Sounds like good target practice.
ya buddy!
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: rasbo on March 13, 2010, 06:07:19 AM: never seen one here
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: Ray on March 13, 2010, 10:12:31 AM: Most of the flying squirrels I have seen are usually getting some lift off by way of my .223. The flyers go up about 4 - 5 feet sometime with gymnastic death spins. Hitting them right near the base of their body seems to work best. Then their bretheren come in and nibble on the leftovers.
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: saylean on March 13, 2010, 10:31:29 AM: I saw a chipmuck take a nose dive at about 40 ft off a tree, while being chased by a squirrel....thats as close as I have seen.
Title: Re: Have you seen flying squirrels in WA?
Post by: Idabooner on March 13, 2010, 02:52:57 PM: Hears a flying squirrel story I posted way back. http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,333.msg2556.html#msg2556 (http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,333.msg2556.html#msg2556)

They are mostly nocturnal animals, they can't see good in the day time. That's why people seldom see them. They are most active in the moon light in open timber. Back when I was cutting logs we used to get a nesting tree every now and then. One day I captured two of them and stuck them in my empty lunch box. That night when the wife opened the box and the squirrels jumped out she about crapped, I about split a gut laughing but she didn't think that was a bit funny.