Just before 5 am this morning, Jackie was sound asleep in the wet nest…until BOINK!
She had just been used as a trampoline for that silly, gutsy Fiona to bound over the top of her to the other side of the nest.
Fiona is one of the San Bernardino flying squirrels who have their home and nest somewhere below Jackie and Shadow’s nest…and this morning, she literally bounced on Jackie’s back get over the top of her and across the nest…then disappeared as quickly as she had arrived.
Jackie was not too pleased and quickly sat up with a resounding wingslap, to chase away whatever had just whizzed past. – in case you missed it, too, we added a slo-mo clip to the video so you can see just how crazy and daring that tiny squirrel is!
These San Bernardino flying squirrels, Fiona and Fast Freddie, are only about 9 inches long, including tail, compared to Jackie’s body length of over 3 feet. A bit misnamed, flying squirrels do not actually fly, but have a special membrane between their front and back legs that allows them to glide through the air from tree to tree…or when necessary, across the backs of bald eagles!
Shadow, of course, knew enough not to bother showing up at the nest this morning…Jackie is always the nest-sitter during bad weather.
Later in the morning, after the rain had turned to snow, Jackie did check-in by calling out to Shadow as she was turning her eggs…
,,,And while Shadow answered back a long story, Jackie stretched, did her business off the edge of the nest (PS—poop shot), and then announced that it was a success…Jackie is known for always announcing these--day or night, any kind of weather, she makes sure the neighborhood knows that all is well with her digestive system.
After such an active morning, Jackie spent the rest of the day shaking off rain and snow to keep her eggs warm and protected…
…while Shadow stood guard on some of his favorite perch trees, disappearing into the fog and seeming to enjoy the peaceful calmness of the snow falling around him.
Enjoy!
Sandy
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