[Bristol-Birds] Is eastern Sullivan County an overlap zone for Southern and Northern Fox Squirrels ?
- From: "Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "'bristol-birds'" <bristol-birds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 28 Mar 2015 23:47:19 -0400
Roy Knispel and I have been exchanging emails and photos regarding Fox
Squirrels seen in Sullivan County, TN. Our discussion regards whether these
animals are the Southern Fox Squirrels, Northern Fox Squirrels or Eastern
Fox Squirrels. Each is a variety of the Fox Squirrel in general.
Roy writes:
"These squirrels are plain brown-tan rather than reddish like the Fox
Squirrels I was used to seeing in Wisconsin, which I think are Northern Fox
Squirrels. These are large (noticeably larger than Gray Squirrels) and they
have a distinctly white nose. My reference is an old edition of the
Peterson Mammals Field Guide, which has light colors in general. Maybe they
are Eastern Fox Squirrels, but the ones we saw do not show reddish-brown
color. We have seen them with some regularity along Rooty Branch Rd. not
far up from the Beaver Pond and along Colebrook Rd, and up from Colebrook
Rd. along Pemberton Rd.Fox Squirrel 9-25-12 Colebrook Rd Southern.jpg.. I
have attached three pictures I took on Colebrook Rd. a couple of years ago.
These are different squirrels, or at least the pictures were taken at
different times."
Fox Squirrel by Roy Knispel 4-19-13 on limb.jpgFox Squirrel I Red black
5-15-12 by Roy Knispel.jpg
Photo left was taken 25 Sept 2012 (gray morph on fence)
Photo center was taken 9 April 2013 (red morph on limb)
Photo right 15 May 2012 (black morph on tree trunk)
Fox Squirrell BLONDE Centrzl Holston 4 Oct 2012.JPG The Fox Squirrel at the
left is the red morph which is
believed to be the Northern Fox Squirrel variety. I found and photographed
this one near Central Holston community on the South Fork of Holston River
in eastern Sullivan County, 4 October 2012. It was a really big squirrel.
It appears to be the reddish/orange northern subspecies of Fox Squirrel.
Roy's use of the common name "Southern Fox Squirrel" had caught my eye in
his post. TWRA says Tennessee has three main species of tree squirrels --
red squirrels, which are found in mountainous climates, gray squirrels,
which prefer large hardwood forests, and fox squirrels, which thrive in a
mixture of hardwoods and pines.
Roy wrote that he had seen "several" Southern Fox Squirrels along Pemberton
and Colebrook Rds. If he had seen a black Fox Squirrel that is of
significant interest. I am not sure if I have seen the black Southern Fox
Squirrel in Northeast Tennessee or maybe even in Tennessee.
Roy shared the black morph individual photo he had taken three years ago.
TWRA states that, during the past few years, the blacker southern subspecies
(or variety or morph) of Fox Squirrel in Tennessee seems to have been
pushing farther north where it's been crossing paths with the reddish/orange
northern subspecies of Fox Squirrel.
No matter how you look at published range maps of the three color morphs,
our area along the Virginia-Tennessee line and north-south in the Ridge and
Valley area here in Holston Valley, appears to be right on the dividing
line for the three varieties. Authorities actually are not very sure what
these three color morphs really mean because they cross and several
different color forms are known as we see along the South Fork of Holston
River here in eastern Sullivan County.
Roy Knispel's careful photo documentation of the Fox Squirrels has been an
important and valuable photo documentation of what might be taking place
with these creatures in our area. I suspect this area will become known as
the crossroads or overlap zone for these guys as more serious and precise
research is conducted.
In the meanwhile, take digital photos of any curious-looking Fox Squirrels
you observe in the area and share them with us. This is a very fascinating
challenge that we, as field naturalists, can explore.
Thanks again to Roy..
Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN
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