Ottawa Valley Project: Flying Squirrel, Red Fox and Snowy Owl

Hello, Earth Rangers! I’m Megan Quinn, and I’m a researcher with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. I’m working with a team in the Ottawa Valley in Ontario, which is home to all different kinds of wildlife — including the snowy owl, the flying squirrel, and the red fox!

Snowy owls have beautiful white and brown feathers that camouflage them against their snowy habitats. Their feathers form rings around their bright yellow eyes and help reflect sound to their ears. These birds of prey are almost three feet tall, with wingspans of almost four feet. They’re really good at judging distance, which allows them to swoop down and catch their prey. Unlike most owls, snowy owls are diurnal, which means they hunt during the day. While lemmings are their preferred prey, these birds will also eat arctic hares, ptarmigan, foxes, mice, and seabirds. Snowy owls swallow their smaller prey whole — GULP!

We have two species of flying squirrel here in the Ottawa Valley — the northern flying squirrel and the southern flying squirrel. These creatures have either reddish-brown or gray-brown fur, and they have large dark eyes and flat tails. Unlike most squirrels, Northern and Southern Flying Squirrels are nocturnal. Flying squirrels make their nests in holes in trees, and they’re omnivores, so they eat insects, bird eggs, mushrooms, flowers, fruits, and nuts. They have a furry membrane called a patagium that extends between their front and rear legs and helps them glide through the air. While they don’t exactly fly as their name suggests, these squirrels can glide up to 45 yards!

Red foxes can be found in many different habitats around the world — they can even live in human environments. These animals have rusty red fur, pointy faces, and bushy tails. While they make their homes out in the open, they will dig burrows and go underground during bad weather. Red foxes are excellent hunters, as they have sharp senses of sight, hearing, and smell. During the winter, they prefer small animals like mice, squirrels, lemmings, and rabbits, and in the summer they also eat berries, earthworms, and insects. Red foxes are also great at communicating with one another, using body language and a range of barks and calls. And they’re strong swimmers and jumpers — red foxes can jump fences more than 6 feet high!