Right now there are a bunch of young eastern grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) hanging around my property. They are the first litter of the year that are now weaned and on their own. Their parents are working on fixing up the nests and preparing for round two. They’re pretty easy to spot because they’re still a little small and definitely not as fat as the adults. Many of them are also very timid and nervous. The ones that survive this period of adjustment will gain confidence as they make the transition. Most will eventually move on to other areas since grey squirrels, especially the males, tend to be highly territorial and don’t allow other males, even their own offspring, to stay on their territory. This little male really wanted to come down to the feeding station and eat, but everything was scaring him. In this photo, he was pressing himself down on the oak tree branch to be as small and inconspicuous as possible. When the other animals cleared out, he made several attempts to come down, but got frightened each time. Never fear, though, there’s actually a happy ending to this story. Eventually, he got brave enough and made it the whole way down. When he got there he found the cherries that I had put out, and was very taken with them. He ate all of the ones that were on the porch rail, along with some of the bird seed. His patience paid off, because he ended up eating his entire meal uninterrupted.