Delmarva Fox Squirrel: A foxy squirrel indeed

A while back, I posted an image of a sensational rodent, the Delmarva Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger cinereus), HERE. Seeing this jumbo was high on my list on a trip to the Delmarva Peninsula region of Maryland and Virginia. I met with much success, and here is a bit more of a pictorial essay on the handsome beast.

Here's an Ohio specimen of the Fox Squirrel, and it's a fine-looking mammal. The largest of our tree squirrels, it is distinctive with those bright orangish tones in the pelage. I made this image on February 15 of this year in Lorain County, Ohio.

Here's the Delmarva Fox Squirrel, a different subspecies of the aforementioned Fox Squirrel which is markedly different in appearance. It's every bit as large if not larger and is characterized by its stunning silvery fur. Note the little stub ears. This one is eating the remnants of a pinecone, in much the manner that someone would eat a cob of corn.

PHOTO NOTES: I first encountered Delmarva Fox Squirrels at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Maryland, near my base camp in Cambridge. Over my visits there, I saw about five squirrels - and one Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus caroliniensis). However, I quickly learned that the big silvery fellows are often quite wary, and none of them allowed me shots. Even after I wised up to their behavior and general wariness, I still didn't have much luck with close approaches at Blackwater. That all changed at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia. All of the shots in this post were made there. I think the squirrels just see many more people there and are somewhat habituated to us. After spending several hours slowly hiking along the Woodland Trail there, I had several nice encounters with squirrels. I'd often hear them in the leaf litter before I saw them and would quietly sidle into position for shots. The animal in the above photo was the first one I managed to photograph. He had the good manners to sit in a pool of sunlight in an otherwise shadowed woodland understory. It was like a stage light was shining on him. I was using my Canon R5 mirrorless camera and the Canon 400mm DO II with 1.4x extender (560mm) for all of these shots. It's a fantastic rig for handholding and allows the operator to work fairly far from the subject.

I'm forever looking closely at snags in the hopes of seeing a roosting owl, and that's how I noticed this squirrel. It was cold on this morning, and he was sunbathing. Note how the pelage looks whitish. Could be just the way that the light was striking it, or it may be an older animal.

This is a typical Delmarva Fox Squirrel dray (nest) in a broken-off tree snag. I also some drays out in the open in branches which I assume were also of this species.

As part of the recovery plan for the formerly federally endangered Delmarva Fox Squirrel, nest boxes like this were placed in suitable habitats to provide additional nest and roosting sites. I saw a number of these boxes at Chincoteague. The squirrels take readily to them, and the animal sunbathing in the previous photo was using this box.

The Delmarva Fox Squirrel was included on the federal governments inaugural list of endangered species, released in 1967. This distinctive and charismatic subspecies once ranged commonly throughout the Delmarva Peninsula region, including parts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Primarily due to habitat loss, the population contracted to the point that perhaps only 10% of its original population remained.

They favor mature woodlands - often mixed deciduous and pine - with mostly open understory. Habitat restoration and targeted reintroductions into favorable locations increased the population significantly over time, and the Delmarva Fox Squirrel was de-listed in 2015. Still, I believe it is only found in limited parts of Maryland and Virginia now, and no longer occurs in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

I spent a lot of time quietly observing the squirrels, thoroughly impressed with their size and beauty. It was also interesting to see firsthand their behavior and diversity of diet. The woodlands that I saw them in had plenty of greenbrier (Smilax sp.) and this relative of the Lily Family (Liliaceae) still had many fruits clinging to the thorny stems. That's what this squirrel is noshing on, and I saw others eating greenbrier fruit.

It's a testament to the Endangered Species Act that the Delmarva Fox Squirrel still survives, and at least locally, thrives. The world would certainly be a poorer place without these jumbo silvery rodents.