Terrific photo by NatureOutside reader K. Leal.
Birds see everything. And they talk!
In the past I’ve written about bird language, and how you can use it to learn what’s happening in the forest. Birds broadcast live reports that reveal where animals are and what they’re doing
Well, tree squirrels are much the same way. They’re vigilant, always on the lookout for predators. They’re also loudmouths! More than once a squirrel has outed me as I stalked a deer for a good photo. And several times our tree-dwelling friends alerted me to predators I couldn’t see.
If you’re tuned to what squirrels are saying, you can use it to your advantage. You can detect unseen animals, and minimize your own disturbance as you walk through the woods.
It’s Enormous and Coming Toward You!
It’s a blustery winter day in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Mist and rain compete to soak my hat. I’m high on a ridge with a commanding view of the Pacific Ocean. I traverse a grassy hillside, green from winter rains.
My path leaves the grassy slope and enters dense oak woodland. The oak trees and giant California Bays block the overcast sky. It’s dark in the forest, and my visibility is limited by the sea of trunks all around me.
Even before I arrive at the woods’ edge, I know something’s amiss. The squirrels are shouting. Alarm! Alarm! I see a predator!
It isn’t me they’re talking about. I’m too far from the source of the alarm calls. Something else is moving in these woods.
I enter the woods cautiously, radar up. I slow my pace and focus my senses ahead. Another squirrel joins the chorus, but this time much closer. The animal is coming toward me!
I’m moving quietly now. At each turn in the forest path I “pie the corners” to give me the greatest visibility forward.
About twenty yards ahead, a squirrel calls from above. It’s close now!
I pause for a moment. I can’t hear anything, nor sense movement.
And then she’s there – a trail-runner in her early thirties. She says “Hi” as she closes the distance to where I’m standing.
I say to her, “The squirrels were talking about you.”
“Oh yeah?”
“I didn’t know what kind of animal was coming toward me.”
I smile as I say this. And she laughs as she trots off.
Did she understand what the squirrels were saying? Would you?
Learn Basic Tree Squirrel
Let’s learn some basic tree squirrel alarm calls. For most of us, these are the Eastern Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) or Western Gray Squirrel (Sciurus griseus). Where I live in California, we also have ground squirrels. But they speak a different “language.” They even use different calls to identify if the threat is on the ground or in the air.
Below are some tree squirrel alarm calls recorded by The Mindful Hunter, Charlie Portlock of Shropshire Hills, United Kingdom. It’s terrific that he took the time to do this.
Note that the squirrels in your area may speak a different dialect. So you use your ears to learn about the squirrels near you.
Look out – A Predator is Near!
This is the call I hear most often. It’s a series of “Kuks” made as the squirrel observes the predator. It means, “Look out! A predator is near!”
The squirrels in this recording are making the sounds rapidly. But the squirrels in my area make them quite a bit slower.
I See It – It’s Leaving!
Another common call is the series of “Kuks” followed by a “Quaa.” It means, “I can still see the predator but it looks like it’s leaving.” I also interpret it to mean, “I see you, so don’t even think about it!”
I’m not Coming Down!
Here’s a call I don’t really hear much in California. It’s more of a moan that means “I think the predator has gone but I’m being loud to let it know that I’ve seen it and that I’m not coming down.” I think this may be a regional difference between the squirrels near me and the ones in the recording. Have you heard squirrels make this sound?
Have Eyes in the Trees
These calls are easy to learn. And once you hear them in the wild, you’ll start hearing them everywhere.
Do the tree squirrels near you make other calls? Let me know in the comments below.
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I live on the Central Coast of California and I hear the “I’m not coming down” “moan” sound with some frequency.
This is useful to know. Thanks, Blaize!
I do hear it occasionally in other parts of California. So I’m going to keep my ears open in case I’m missing it when I hike locally.
I live in Santa Cruz along the river. Maybe it’s more common in urban squirrels in this area?
I found your site by Googling “eastern grey squirrel calls”. I’m in South Carolina and the craziest thing happened today.
I noticed a Red Tail Hawk standing right outside our dining room window and my husband could tell he was hunting. He hopped up in our bushes and was searching for something. He took off empty clawed and my husband went outside to check things out.
He could hear a squirrel calling, very close, but couldn’t see anything – until he saw a little grey head pop out of one of our gutter downspouts! Poor thing was scared to death and had hidden in there. He was making the Kuk Kuk Qua call. I has to Google to make sure it wasn’t a distress or dying call. So relieved to read he was just warning. 🙂
Andrea, what a great story! It sounds like your squirrel had a lucky escape. It’s a good thing he could fit in your downspout!
Now that you know what to listen for, you can tell when the hawk or another predator is lurking without the need to look outside.
I’m in Maine and have heard all noises except for the moan! “I’m not coming down but I have seen you”. These are grey squirrels and we have a lot of cats in the area. It’s very possible I hear it and think it’s a bird call, but I really don’t believe I’ve ever heard that sound in my 4 years of being here! It’s interesting to me to be sure! Also, she must have been louder than you, why if they were more concerned about you? 🤣 animals are amazing, I wish more people understood that! Thank you for sharing. 🙃
Luke, animals are truly amazing.
I think the squirrels were more concerned by the jogger because she was moving quickly, she was moving loudly, and she was creating both an audio and visual “disturbance.” I was moving slowly, quietly, and trying to project a neutral/baseline vibe. Animals, like people, are good at reading body language. They must do this so they don’t waste energy fleeing an animal that is not hunting. So if you cultivate the skill, you can move through the forest and minimize the disturbance you create. This allows you to see more wildlife.