Summer Lovin’
The Summer Solstice has come and gone, but it seems the warm weather is here to stay. This week, New York has been under a severe heat advisory— and if it weren’t for my career in outdoor education, I can’t honestly say how much I’d be out there. I try to never take my career for granted, but on days with 90% humidity, it is tough.
Sunday afternoon, I got reminded of why I’m so lucky.
When I started Wild New York, I was shocked to learn that flying squirrels could be found in New York City. They always struck me as creatures of the deep forest, mysterious sprites of the night gliding between the branches of venerable woodlands. It turns out, you can actually catch them on fire escapes in Northern Manhattan. Don’t hear me saying it’s easy to spot them; I spent the better part of a month while filming our first episode looking for them in Fort Tryon and Inwood Hill Parks. There were times at night I could hear them, but I never laid eyes, much less a camera, on one. That all changed in December of 2023, when I had a chance encounter with our soaring sciuridae hopping along the ground. It was an unforgettable experience, finally photographing an animal I’d searched for for so long— but little did I know it would pale in comparison to yet another chance encounter.
The heatwave has all New York Mammals adapating, and flying squirrels are not immune. They’re cavity nesters (which sometimes leads to them building nests in the walls and attics of human domiciles. Tree cavities are a wonderful place to raise young, with their more consistent temperatures and protection from the elements. But they’re not perfect— with a full family crammed in, temperatures can easily soar. That’s what I suspect led me to these beautiful Southern Flying Squirrels! I was tipped off by one head poking out to see what’s what, and before long, a second one emerged.
Southern Flying Squirrels have a few markers that help tell them apart to even the untrained eye. For starters, their eyes are much larger relative to their head size than any of our other squirrel species. The second is their crimped ears, with a shape that almost looks like the outside of bowtie pasta. Seeing these creatures of the night, in daytime no less, left me humbled in spite of the heat. Exploring nature, and sharing it with others, is a gift. And every time you step outside, there’s something new to discover.
