Rather, it glides from tree to tree, or tree to ground by leaping from its perch and extending its legs and the loose flaps of skin that connect them. If it wants back into the tree tops, however, it must climb. The flying squirrel eats a variety of things like seeds, nuts, fruits, fungi, insects, baby birds and eggs. In the winter it munches on moss and lichens. Unlike the gray and douglas squirrels, they do not store food.
Owls prey on flying squirrels as they glide from tree to tree.
These friendly, and sometimes pesky, little critters are common throughout the Shasta-Trinity, and are encountered almost everywhere. They are most often seen scampering around campsites where they pilfer food and beg for goodies. Their small size and the white and dark brown stripes running down their backs from nose to tail make identification easy. There are several varieties of chipmunks in the area Yellow Pine, Allen s, Sonoma, and Least chipmunks. The Golden Mantled Ground Squirrel is not a chipmunk, though easily mistaken for one.