The Urban Pantheist

The view out the office window has changed dramatically. The addition of birdseed makes for a more interesting cast of characters.


Blue, here, seems to be taking his time making a selection.


Unable to scale the slippery pole, the peanut gallery settles for whatever the messy birds spilled from the tray.

Squirrel, tree, lichen, puddingstone, Franklin Park.


On this day in 365 Urban Species: Curly dock, as pictured from Puddingstone Park on Mission Hill.

We walked the dogs in the weird landscape of Franklin Park yesterday.

( 17 more pictures?! )

Eastern Gray Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis

Fortunately for squirrels, they eat more than nuts. Like their less-beloved relatives, the mice and rats, squirrels are quite omnivorous. In addition to the seeds of trees, they eat flowers, mushrooms, and baby birds. They are as happy snacking on pizza crusts from a trash can as they are collecting acorns.

The fact that they can eat wild foods and garbage, as well as peanuts and popcorn from city park well-wishers, means that the density of urban gray squirrel populations may be higher than in a forest. Some cities and towns love their squirrels, especially if they are unusually colored. Eastern gray squirrels have spread far and wide from their original range, and can be found on the west coast as well as in Great Britain and Italy. Like many successful urban species, when introduced outside their native range, they become invasive.